Guardian Angel
by DarkChain
Summary: Merlin, a young angel, comes to a private college where he meets his protégé Arthur. But it isn't always an easy task to protect a prat like him. Can Merlin manage his new life as a student and keep Arthur safe at the same time? Without him finding out of course... Trouble is to be exspected ;) Modern AU; Angel!Merlin; no slash, just Bromance ; multi-chaptered
1. Arriving Angel

**AN:** So, this is my first Merlin fic and I hope you don't mind my mistakes. English is not my first language after all :) This is NO reincarnation fic and there will be NO SLASH either, just BROMANCE.

I hope you will like this story, I'm trying to update as often as I can.

Enjoy! :D

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Merlin. Seriously. I don't.

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**CHAPTER 1: ARRIVING ANGEL**

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Many great legends start with something along the lines of:"There once was a heroic prince born in a faraway kingdom."

This one starts with: Arthur Pendragon was punched into his gut.

It wasn't a heavy blow but it had come quite surprisingly. Taken aback a little Arthur stumbled backwards. His attacker was a bulky guy around his age. His name? Didn't matter. What he wanted? Mattered even less.

Everything that mattered was that he had insulted Arthur Pendragon ("Oh, if that isn't the little bastard that thinks he rules the entire city, eh?") _and_ had punched him into the gut. Arthur's vision instantly went red with anger as he lunged forward and his fist collided with the jaw of his attacker. "Now how do you like _that_!"

His attacker glared at him. "Don't think too highly of yourself, Arthur Pendragon! You're nothing more than a foolish _boy" _he spat the word "that thinks he can do as he pleases just because he's got a rich daddy that owns a private college. But let me tell you something. Uther Pendragon is an ignorant ass and I think you're one as well! You don't have a clue on what the world is like! You don't understand the people who have to _work _for their money!"

Arthur stared at him with gritted teeth and blue eyes sparkling with rage. "How _dare _you say that?! What would you know about me? Let me guess, you're one of Morgana's _fans_" now it was Arthur's time to spat. "What did she promise you for intimidating me? Maybe she-"but before he could finish his sentence he felt another blow to his stomach; this time he felt a stinging pain somewhere in his abdomen. He really had to go see Gaius afterwards…

Arthur had to blame himself this time for being too absorbed in his anger to see the attack coming. He really had to learn how to stay calm; he just had short temper. He probably had inherited it from his father.

Before he could even react to anything further, he felt an arm gripping his collar and holding him up. "Let me go!" he shouted and kicked his attacker, who instantly let go and pressed his hands against his side. Arthur couldn't suppress a smirk as he heard his attacker grunting in discomfort.

Suddenly something kicked his legs away and Arthur fell unfashionable to the ground. He already wanted to get back up when he suddenly saw that two more guys had joined his attacker. So that's what that something making him trip was.

Arthur would have pouted if this situation hadn't been so serious. Three against one just wasn't _fair_!

Arthur didn't have the time to do anything when he suddenly felt heavy boots pushing him down. The air left his lungs and he already prepared himself for the pain that would come when he heard a soft female voice call his name.

Gwen Smiths came into the alley they were currently fighting in, her curly brown hair flowing behind her. She stopped in her tracks when she saw a worn out Arthur lying on the floor surrounded by three bulks.

"You!" She said harshly and pointed at his attackers "Get away from him or I will call the police!" She threatened while pulling out her phone. The three looked at her warily; the biggest one sighed in defeat and removed his boot from Arthur's chest.

"This isn't over yet, Arthur Pendragon." He said menacingly and left the alley, followed by his cronies. Gwen waited until they were out of sight before she rushed to Arthur's side, a worried look on her cute face.

Arthur, on the other hand, tried hard to avoid her eyes. She shouldn't have seen him like that, so _weak. _But the worst of all, he had been saved by Gwen, a _girl _that was _two years younger_ than him.

"Arthur, is everything alright? Are you hurt?" she asked concerned and helped him stand up.

"N-no, I'm fine. Thanks." Arthur mumbled and still looked away ashamed, a hint of red on his cheeks.

Gwen chuckled a little. "Come on, Arthur, you don't have to be embarrassed."

She teased and smiled a big warm smile at him. Arthur couldn't help it and smiled back at her, his chest feeling somewhat warmed up.

The two silently made their way back to the campus of the CPC, the Camelot Private College. His father, Uther Pendragon, was the current headmaster and also the owner, which gave Arthur the special position of being the "Prince of the College". He always got good grades by the teachers, even when he actually wasn't that good in most subjects and he also was the captain of the fencing club.

But he also was expected to be perfect, flawless even. He couldn't allow himself to make mistakes and he always had the burden to make his father proud. Which really wasn't an easy task to fulfill.

"I don't really understand how you always manage to get into fights"Gwen said when they arrived at the campus grounds.

"It's like I'm drawing all danger in the world towards me…" Arthur said and looked up into the sky. Dark clouds blocked out the sun. It was going to rain tonight.

"It sometimes seems like you're cursed…" Gwen mused. "Maybe you need a guardian angel. It really doesn't seem like you have one…"

Arthur looked at her questioningly. What was going on in her head that he didn't know of?

"Maybe you're right…" he mumbled, again staring at the grey sky.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Later that day, Arthur was on his way to the dormitory. Like he had predicted it was heavily raining now and so he was in quite a hurry. He was tough and all, but he didn't want to catch a cold. Not that he ever got sick.

He entered the dorms when he saw someone heaving a really heavy looking suitcase up the stairways. Seriously, this suitcase was two times bigger than the guy himself!

The skinny fellow he was looking at had some striking features. Ruffled, pitch-black hair under which a pair of big ears stuck out, high cheekbones covered by pale skin and a pair of big azure colored eyes which seemed like they had seen too much of the world. But he couldn't possibly be older than Arthur, more likely even a few years younger.

Arthur just stood there, staring at the boy in front of him. He felt strange, really strange. He couldn't move, he couldn't even think straight. There was something about this boy that let him do nothing else but stare. What was going on here? Just who the hell was this boy that he had this effect on him?

After what felt like an hour of staring, the boy set his suitcase down with a sigh and slowly turned around. Blue eyes met with an intensity that surprised Arthur and he saw a glint in this stranger's eyes that made him shiver. It was as if he knew everything about him.

The boy opened his mouth and Arthur almost expected the boy to say something wise and cryptic but everything he got to hear was: "Are you really that much of a _prat_ that you don't think of helping me? That suitcase's really heavy, you know. Besides, staring is impolite."

Arthur hastily averted his eyes and started to frown. So he's just an idiot after all…

"It's not my problem if you're too weak to get your stuff up there." He just said and tried to look angry at the guy in front of him. He just didn't manage to, so he tried to start a conversation "You new here?"

The boy in front of him rolled his eyes. "No, I was on vacation. Of course I'm new here, dollop-head." He said teasingly and chuckled.

Arthur huffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Don't call me that! What does it mean, anyway?"

"It's a word that describes…" The boy thought for a moment and then pointed his long pale finger at Arthur. "…people like you." Arthur couldn't suppress a smile at the grinning boy in front of him. Seriously, why was this guy so damn happy? It's not like Arthur had been especially nice to him…"You really are one of those sickly cheerful idiots, huh?"

The boy just smiled and held out his hand to shake. "Pleased to meet you too."

Arthur took the fragile looking hand and suddenly felt a pang in his chest.

It felt like…he was finding something that he had lost. Something really important…

How weird.

"So…What's your name than?" the boy asked still smiling, but his eyes seemed somewhat distant all of a sudden.

"I'm Arthur."

The boy's eyes grew wide as if he had just realized something important.

"So _you're _Arthur!" he exclaimed excited. "I'm Merlin by the way."

"Say, _Mer_lin" Oh, Arthur really liked that name. It had a certain ring to it…

"Do we know each other?" He really had that feeling though he was absolutely sure he had never met an idiot like him.

Merlin shifted nervously "Ah, er, no I-I don't think so. B-but…you're the son of, er, Uther Pendragon, the headmaster, right?"

Merlin blushed a little when he realized that he had just stuttered like a fool.

Arthur rewarded him with a suspicious look but said nothing more than "Yeah, that would be me."

This Merlin really was kind of odd…Arthur just couldn't put his finger on it… Merlin had something like, god forbid he dared to think something so absurd, an interesting aura…

And he was an idiot.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Merlin lay in his bed and stared at the too fancy looking ceiling above him. Really, it was just a _ceiling_. It seemed like this entire college was made of silver and gold.

He was happy that this was a private college, which meant that he had a room for himself. Who knew with what kind of people he would have ended up?

Today, he had finally met his protégé, Arthur. He turned out to be a slightly arrogant prat, but Merlin was confident he was the great person he was sent to protect.

Someone who had such a great destiny awaiting him had to be a great person too, right? He certainly hoped so…

Merlin wondered whether Arthur had felt the connection too, when they had shaken hands. It was a strange thing; he didn't think that such a strong connection was common, even for a guardian angel and his protégé.

Yeah, that reminded Merlin of just a few days ago, when everything had started.

He almost felt nostalgia thinking back to it, now that he lay in a bed in a college. Fate got its twist, huh?

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-_FLASHBACK_-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

"_Congratulations, Merlin Emrys" Merlin stared up at his teacher. His name was Kilgarrah and he was really old. He had lived since hundreds of years ago, when people had still believed in magic and dragons ruled the sky. Kilgarrah often told him how he once disguised as a dragon to protect an entire kingdom but Merlin thought he was exaggerating a little. How could one person protect something as big as a kingdom? Merlin noticed that he was daydreaming again and he focused on the golden eyes of his teacher, which every angel was born with._

"_You have successfully completed your education under my guidance and are now provided to call yourself a guardian angel." Kilgarrah smiled one of his smiles that inquired that he knew something nobody else did and Merlin had to smile back. He would miss his teacher, even though he often talked in confusing riddles._

"_Now, destiny will choose a human for you to protect. Remember, only those with a greater purpose than just living their lives receive a guardian angel"_

_Merlin nodded, Kilgarrah had told him that every time one of Merlin's friends had become a guardian angel. Now it was his turn._

"_Step closer, young angel" _

_Merlin did as he was told and Kilgarrah handed him shining ball of blue light._

"_What should I do with it?" Merlin asked and eyed the ball curiously._

"_Nothing, just listen." Merlin frowned and listened but he didn't hear anything besides the breathing of Kilgarrah and himself. The white temple they currently were in was entirely empty, which was why Merlin jumped a little when he suddenly heard a voice. "Emrysssss… Emrysssss…You have….to find….the young man….that will save many lives…his name…is…Ar….thur…Arthur…Pendragon….He has a….great destiny….Emryssss….you're part of…..it…..You have to….help fulling…it…Emryssss"_

_Merlin just stared at the ball of light in his hand. "Does that mean…my protégé is this Arthur guy?"_

_Kilgarrah chuckled and nodded. "That it means. And…" He hesitated but Merlin didn't notice; he was too absorbed in imagining his new protégé._

"…_it seems you two have a great destiny together. It is very important, young angel, that you protect him with all your might and even your life. Keep him save at any cost, physically and emotionally too. I wonder…" Kilgarrah trailed of and Merlin caught the glimpse of worry in his teacher's eyes. Kilgarrah was never worried…and that worried Merlin now._

"_What is it, Kilgarrah?" Merlin asked and feared the answer. He had a funny feeling about what was going on in the old man's head._

"_It's nothing, just the thoughts of an old angel. Now it's your turn. I'm going to tell you where to find Arthur Pendragon…" Kilgarrah continued to talk about what was going to be Merlin's new life with a constant smile on his face but the worrisome look stayed in his eyes the whole time…_

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-_FLASHBACK_-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Merlin closed his eyes and curled himself up under the blankets. They felt like they would cost way too much than anyone should spent on a blanket.

He really missed his old home, Kilgarrah, his mother and his best friend Will. Here, disguised as a human (he just had to hide his wings and wear blue contact lenses but still), he had no way to communicate with them and he knew no one in this college.

Besides Arthur…the man he existed for. It was something he feared… To exist for a man you barely know isn't easy, for none of the angels out there. It was a great honor and even a greater burden to become a guardian angel.

What if he failed to protect him? What if Arthur didn't want to be protected? What if he didn't like Merlin? What if he was unable to help fulfilling this oh so great destiny?

Or even worse; what if someone found out what he was? What would they do to him? Merlin sighed. He shouldn't worry so much. Will would always tease him about being a worrywart.

And Kilgarrah would say something cryptic like:"Destiny knows what it is doing, young angel. Trust in yourself and the future will become clear when it's ready for it." Merlin chuckled. He may not be able to talk to his friends anymore, but their voices still stayed in his head.

With a confident smile on his lips, Merlin drifted into a dreamless sleep. Tomorrow, he thought, I'll get to know Arthur better. I'm going to spend my whole life protecting him, after all.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

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**AN:** Phew, that was kind of fun to write but it took too long finding all those mistakes. Well, anyway, I hope you liked it so far :) I'll probably update in a few days, school is making it hard to find time to write anything else than homework.

It would be very nice of you to leave a review, may it be positive or negative :) Tell me whether you would like longer or shorter chapters and I will try to make them to your liking. So… Have a good time :)

Until next time :D

by **DarkChain**


	2. Efforting Angel

**A/N:** So… First of all: HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed followed and favored :) You really are awesome and deserve the next chapter. Well, here it is :D As usual I'm sorry for any mistakes and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter like you enjoyed the last one. It's even longer! On we go! :D

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Merlin. Still.

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**CHAPTER 2: EFFORTING ANGEL**

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Arthur woke up in pain, every part of his body seemed to ache, his stomach most of all.

He groaned and turned over looking at his phone on the nightstand. It was barely six o'clock! Way too early for Arthur's liking but he couldn't possibly go back to sleep now; his whole body felt like it was on fire.

He really should have visited Gaius after his fight yesterday… Oh well, he could still do that now. Gaius usually awoke very early in the morning and Arthur still had enough time before breakfast would start.

After he showered and dressed, he made his way to the room where Gaius would tend to his patients, he always was there in case someone was injured.

As he walked through the hallways, Arthur suddenly heard a familiar voice calling his name. "Arthur, mate! Hell must have crushed your bed if you're up so early."

Arthur turned around in annoyance, his eyebrows twitching. "Good Morning, Gwaine." he said cooler than intended and instantly received a heavy slap on his shoulder.

"Morning, princess" came the reply and Gwaine slung an arm around Arthur's shoulder, a big grin on his face. "Now, tell me, what drove you to wake up before breakfast?"

Arthur just rolled his eyes and pushed Gwaine's arm away. "Is it really that strange for me to get up before breakfast?!" Gwaine just grinned at him and nodded, so Arthur added "I just have some things to take care of at Gaius'" and rubbed the back of his head as he started to continue walking down the hallway.

Gwaine kept up with him and eyed him curiously. "What do you mean 'things to take care of'? Are you sick? Come on, princess, you can tell me!" he said and continued to grin.

Arthur really didn't know how he could even consider someone like Gwaine his friend. He was just so _annoying _all the time, calling him stupid names.

Arthur sighed again and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Alright, alright. I just wanted to get some painkillers, so stop asking."

Gwaine started to chuckle and Arthur looked away, a small pout on his lips.

"For what would Princess Arthur the invincible need painkillers? Maybe you have your pe-"Gwaine felt an elbow hit his side and he instantly shut his mouth.

Arthur glared at his _friend_ with a stony look on his face. "Would you _please _stop calling me that?! Just so you know, I got in a fight yesterday and it didn't go off to my favor" he explained.

"Sorry, no need to get so pissed." Gwaine said apologetically. Arthur knew he didn't mean it. "Who did you fight with?"

"Just some of Morgana's _followers._ They were really unfair, three against one!"

Gwaine gritted his teeth in anger "Those bastards, again?! They really are too dumb to know when to stop! I should pay them a visit…" he growled.

Arthur gave him a warning look. "Don't do anything rush, we can't need trouble now. Remember, the big fencing tournament is in less than a month" Arthur said urgently, a calming hand resting on Gwaine's shoulder.

Gwaine suddenly stopped in his tracks, eyes growing wide. "Less than a _month_?! You serious? Man, I've totally lost track of time…" he mumbled staggered.

Arthur chuckled, his mood somehow lightened. Maybe that's why he called Gwaine a friend, he always managed to cheer him up.

"Don't worry, we still have more than enough time to practice, at least when you ever _show up _at training" he said reassuringly and smiled.

Gwaine chuckled and gave an apologetic smile. Again. This time it seemed like he meant it. "I promise I'll be there. See you later then, mate." he said while entering another hallway, leaving Arthur alone on his way to Gaius.

When Arthur entered the room of the college physician, he saw the old man drinking tea and reading the newspaper.

"Good morning, Arthur." He said without looking up. Just how did he do that? "You're up quite early, aren't you? What can I do for you?"

Was it really _that_ surprising that he was up early?! Sure it was really rare but still! Wasn't he _allowed_ to get up early?!

Arthur hesitated for a moment. He knew Gaius wouldn't approve of the fact that he had ended up in a fight. Again.

"I, uh, just need some painkillers, if you don't mind" he said, putting on an innocent smile. He knew this wouldn't work, but at least he should try.

Gaius finally put down his newspaper and looked up at Arthur with a skeptic look on his face and his eyebrow rising higher than any other eyebrow in the world ever could.

"I see. Why do you need it?" he demanded but in a gentle tone.

Arthur avoided Gaius' eyes and rubbed his neck. "Well, uh, I actually…kind of got into another fight" When he saw the look in Gaius' eyes he hastily added "But it's nothing serious just some scratches and, well …some bruises too.."

Arthur stared at the floor; he didn't want to see the look of disappointment in the old man's eyes. He always was so terribly ashamed whenever Gaius would catch him do something wrong; he respected the man very much, he had always been a friend of his father and Arthur knew him for many years.

He heard Gaius sigh and then felt two gentle hands on his shoulders. Arthur looked up and saw directly into Gaius eyes, concern glimmering in them and something like amusement too. "Oh Arthur, you really need o learn how to take care of yourself…"

"I know…" Arthur mumbled. Gaius chuckled and then turned around to his cupboard with the medicaments stored on it. "Don't worry, Arthur, someday you will meet a person that keeps you tamed."

Arthur instantly had to think of Gwen and a little blush appeared on his cheeks, hopefully Gaius hadn't seen… The old man handed him a glass of water and a few pills. "Just try to net seek trouble." He reminded him while refilling his teacup.

Arthur swallowed the pills and gulped down the water with a disgusted look on his face. How come that all of Gaius medicaments tasted so horrible?! Seriously, what were they made of? Arthur didn't really want to know…. "Anyway, thanks for your help Gaius" he said and made his way to the door.

"Could you wait a second, Arthur? I need you to give this to your father the next time you see him." Gaius said and fumbled a letter out of his pocket.

"It's important, don't forget it" he said, an admonishing look on his old face. "Of course" Arthur replied with a smile and took the letter out of Gaius hands. "Good bye then, Gaius" he said as he left the room, leaving a skeptic looking Gaius behind. Arthur really had to make sure not to forget this, because if he did, he'd receive a lecture from Gaius _and_ his father. This surely couldn't be considered fun. And that letter seemed to be something really important.

Arthur looked down at the piece of paper in his hand; it was addressed to his father… But the sender was unknown… He had a strange feeling as Arthur shoved the letter into his bag and made his way to the cafeteria; he could almost hear his stomach growl. It was time for breakfast now, he would deliver this ominous letter later…He should tend to it as soon as possible or otherwise his curiosity would take overhand…

And that was a thing which only led to trouble every single time in his life.

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The sun was already shining when Merlin awoke. A quick glance at his clock told him that it was half past seven already and he needed to hurry up a little if he wanted to get breakfast anytime soon. With an unhappy groan, Merlin managed to sit up in his bed and rubbed his tired eyes with the back of his hand.

Seriously, why did he have to get up so bloody early?! He wasn't used to this and Merlin doubted he would ever be. It was just against his nature to stand up this early. Still half asleep, Merlin somehow managed to get himself out of bed and into his bathroom. It took him way too long to shower and get dressed but at least the cold water had helped him to get rid of his sleepiness.

Merlin left his room with a confident smile on his lips and made his way to the cafeteria; he didn't think he had ever felt this hungry before; it was just like he hadn't eaten in ages!

As he walked down the hallway, he started to hum a melody he had often heard when he had been still a little boy and it somehow made him feel homesick. He wondered what all his friends were doing at this time… Merlin couldn't suppress a sigh as he ran a hand through his raven hair, as if to wash the sorrow away.

After what felt like ten minutes of walking down the same seemingly endless hallway Merlin slowed down and eventually just stood there looking around.

"Oh great, now I'm totally lost…" he mumbled annoyed and turned around again, trying to decide where to go. Why was this college just so damn huge?! How could anyone ever manage to find his way through those stupid hallways?! Merlin sighed in defeat and walked back to where he had come from; his apparently blue eyes darting around looking for some sort of sign, which he was sure didn't exist.

"Er, excuse me?" Merlin heard a female voice behind him and instantly spun around. He was face to face with a pretty girl with warm brown eyes and dark brown curly hair. "You look kind of lost" she explained and smiled a shy smile at him. Merlin automatically had to smile back at her as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I am, actually. Could you please show me the way to the cafeteria? I'm literally starving." he explained when his stomach made a traitorous sound.

The girl just chuckled and started to walk down a staircase Merlin hadn't even noticed before. "Are you new here?"

Merlin just nodded and tried to remember the way they were going. He couldn't rely on some bypassing girl every day, which would be kind of embarrassing.

Merlin felt that the girl directed her warm eyes at him and he slightly turned his head around. "I'm Merlin, by the way" he said and amusement sparkled in his eyes when he saw the blush that crept onto the girl's face. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Merlin. I totally forgot to introduce myself…My name's Gwen…" she stumbled while tugging at a curl of hers.

Merlin just gave a light chuckle as they continued their way through the college (Merlin had already forgotten the first half of the way; what was that about _remembering_ the way for once?) "Pleased to meet you, Gwen." Merlin said with a constant smile on his face. Gwen just made his heart feel lighter, as if he didn't have anything to worry about. She also gave him something like confidence, even though he just met her. Merlin had the feeling they would get along just perfect.

"Likewise" she replied when they entered a big hall that seemed to be the cafeteria. "So, here we are. The cafeteria." Gwen said and smiled to Merlin who looked around with awe. "This thing's _huge_!" he exclaimed with his eyes wide open. Seriously there were like over two thousand students sitting at the tables, Merlin had never seen anything like _that_. "Say, Gwen, just how _big_ is this college exactly?"

Gwen chuckled while she guided Merlin to the food bank. "You applied for the CPC without even knowing what it's like? You sure are a bit strange, Merlin." Merlin tilted his head slightly and started to pile up some food on his tray. "Uh, well, thank you, I guess"

Gwen blushed again and looked at Merlin with apologetic eyes. "Oh, I'm so sorry Merlin, I didn't mean it like that…I just wanted to say, uh…You're a bit…extraordinary! Yeah, that's what I meant!" she stuttered and avoided Merlin's eyes. Said just laughed a bit and rewarded the brunette with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Gwen. It's alright; I know exactly what you mean. And well, I guess you _could_ say I'm far from ordinary."

Gwen relaxed a little and looked around. "You don't mind sitting with me and my friends, do you?" she asked and pointed to a table where a bunch of guys was sitting at. Merlin recognized a certain blond and smiled to himself.

"Oh, I don't mind at all."

They walked over to the table and sat down next to a huge guy with a sleeveless shirt. "Good morning, everyone." Gwen greeted the bunch with a soft smile on her lips and Merlin wondered whether it was just his imagination, but…it seemed like Arthur blushed a little; just a tiny bit but enough for him to notice. A grin found its way onto Merlin's features and he barely managed to turn his chuckle into some sort of cough. Suddenly, all eyes were on him.

"Uh…Hi there." he just said and rubbed the back of his neck suddenly becoming somewhat shy. Merlin wasn't a person to seek attention; he preferred to stay unnoticed than being pushed into the spotlight.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot... This is-" "_Mer_lin!" Gwen was interrupted by Arthur's shouting. It really had taken him long to recognize Merlin though…He was a little bit disappointed. Oh well, he shouldn't expect too much of a dollop-head "Oh, so you already know each other?" Gwen asked startled by Arthur's sudden outburst. "Yeah, kind of. I met him on my way to the dorms yesterday" Arthur explained and his sky blue eyes rested on Merlin.

"And you were too lazy to help me carrying my suitcase" Merlin pointed out and smirked at Arthur. The guy next to Arthur started to chuckle. "I knew you were rough, princess, but I never thought you were as arrogant as to not help a mate. I'm utterly disappointed." he said and shook his head in false disapproval.

"_Shut up, _Gwaine" Arthur growled. Gwen chuckled (really, Arthur had to stop blushing; this time Merlin was sure he'd seen it) "So, you know Arthur already and this guy here" she pointed to the one Arthur had just referred to "is Gwaine. This over there is my brother Elyan" this time her finger was directed at the man opposite of Arthur "and Leon" a guy with curly hair that sat next to Elyan "and there's also Percy" this time she pointed at the huge guy who gave Merlin a shy smile "and last but not least" Gwen hesitated and she averted her eyes to the ground "Lance…" The guy Gwen was currently pointing at would sure be considered handsome so Merlin could understand Gwen's affection… But there seemed to be more going on than he could see… Oh, that was getting interesting pretty soon.

Merlin reminded himself that he was too curious and that it surely wasn't his job to worry about the love trials of humans he only met minutes ago…But he had the strange feeling that it was important although he really couldn't understand how it could be… Suddenly Arthur's voice freed him from his musings.

"Say, Merlin, got any lectures this morning?" Merlin looked at his protégé confusion hiding in his eyes. Why was Arthur asking this…? Was he trying to start a conversation? But why would he?

"Uh, yeah, it actually starts in about five minutes…" He realized staring at his watch. What was it with him and punctuality? It just never worked out.

"Does anyone of you know where…" Merlin took a glance at his schedule "…room 287 is?" he asked looking around expectantly.

"Hey, that's where we're heading next too." The guy called Gwaine said and grinned at Merlin. "You want me to show you the way?"

Merlin smiled happily at Gwaine. "That would really be nice; I doubt I could find the way on my own." Arthur smirked at Merlin and his stormy blue eyes glinted with amusement. "Really, _Mer_lin, how come that doesn't surprise me?" He mocked and Merlin noticed that Arthur pronounced his name in a certain way that made a smile tug at his lips. It felt to him like Arthur made his name into something special, which actually was true since he wouldn't be here without someone to protect. Merlin really had to control his emotions, he was already thinking about serious things again and it seemed to him like Arthur had noticed, judging by the look in his protégé's eyes. Merlin stared into them and again there was an intensity that could only be found between a guardian angel and his protégé. Merlin was kind of relieved that he was given a reason to look away from Arthur's piercing eyes.

"We should go now, otherwise we'll be late" the guy named Leon said and rose from his chair. Everyone followed his example and soon the group of seven guys and one girl made their through the hallways. After a while their ways parted; Percy, Elyan and Leon went into room 235 for a mathematic lecture and Merlin followed Gwen, Arthur, Gwaine and Lance into room 287 where a surely boring literature lecture awaited them.

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Merlin was bored. Horribly, utterly bored. He was sure he had never been so bored in his entire life, not even during the hour-long speeches of Kilgarrah (although that was kind of comparable). The professor that was currently talking was a middle aged man with an unshaven face and tired grey eyes; he really seemed like he needed some free time.

After a few more minutes Merlin tried really really hard not to fall asleep, that wouldn't exactly be helpful especially on his first day here.

Merlin cast a quick glance over to Arthur and Gwaine who were sitting in the row before him; Gwaine seemed to be texting someone and Arthur…well, he was trying not to stare at Gwen and miserably failed. Gwen on the other hand was sitting next to Lance playing with her hair and talking casually to him.

Merlin looked at Arthur with sad eyes, he knew what Arthur must feel like and he decided to try and cheer him up later.

Suddenly the professor stopped talking and everyone else started with it. Merlin looked around confused, not getting what he was supposed to do. He decided to just ask the guy sitting next to him. "Say, what was your name again…?" The boy just gave him a disapproving look and slightly shook his head. "I'm Geoffrey for the tenth time" he said coolly. "What can I do for you _now?" _Merlin just rewarded this so called Geoffrey (seriously, that was a name one could easily forget, right?) with a sheepish smile. "Say, _Geoffrey, _what are we supposed to do now, exactly?"

The guy in front of him just rolled his eyes and Merlin couldn't suppress his grin. This guy was so serious it was almost funny.

"Well, Merlin, we are to do presentations about the third act of the drama we're currently reading. In groups of two that is."

Merlin smiled a warm smile at Geoffrey and his eyes lit up. "Thank you, I'd be lost without your help" he exclaimed happily and smirked smugly when he saw that he had managed a smile to appear on the serious guy's face. That's what you call holy angel power. (Of course not, that's just what Merlin calls it.)

"N-no problem, Merlin. I'm glad I could help." Geoffrey said trying to suppress a smile and turned around to talk to some girl.

Merlin looked around and tried to decide with whom he should hold the presentation. His eyes instantly landed on a certain blond and he smiled. That was kind of an opportunity to get to know Arthur better, Merlin reminded himself. In order to protect Arthur he had to become acquainted with his protégé and he would have to spend every free minute with him in case there was need for protection. He could always just follow Arthur around, but Merlin wasn't found of the idea, it would seem like he was some sort of stalker. So, his first step was: Ask Arthur whether he wants to be your partner for the presentation.

…

"Uh….No." came the reply Merlin had anxiously been waiting for. He instantly felt great disappointment and looked at Arthur with big eyes. "Why not?" he asked urgently. Arthur suddenly felt uncomfortable and avoided Merlin's piercing blue eyes. "It's just… I usually do these kind of things with one of my many friends…and not some stranger."

Merlin's a little too big ears suddenly went red with anger. Why was this guy such a prat?! Couldn't he have gotten another protégé? Oh no, he just had to get the king of prats! Merlin had really wanted to try but now he had to find another way to approach Arthur. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to anytime soon…

He could almost hear Kilgarrah's scolding voice in his head. Yeah, yeah, destiny whatever.

"Oh, come on, _Merl_in, don't be such a girl, I'm sure someone will be your partner" Arthur said teasingly and Merlin just realized that there was no one left to ask…besides Gwaine who was obviously sleeping. A smirk arose on his features and Merlin poked Gwaine into the back.

"What…? Huh, Merlin? What's up mate?" He asked sleepily while rubbing his eyes.

"Would you be my partner for the presentations? Please? Arthur rejected me and there's no one left to ask…" Merlin said with big eyes and an innocent smile on his lips. Gwaine just grinned back and patted Merlin on the shoulder. "Sure, mate. How could I say no?"

Arthur's previous smirk disappeared and instead a disbelieving look took over his face. "Whaaaat?!" he exclaimed shocked "But Gwaine, I thought _we _would team up, you know, like always!" Gwaine just shook his head in a mocking manner. "Too late, princess."

Arthur's face went slightly red and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. With a pout on his lips he turned around and…well, he kind of began sulking.

"Is he really that arrogant?" Merlin asked staring at his protégé's back.

"Sure, he's the princess afterall."

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Arthur was angry. At Merlin for asking Gwaine and at Gwaine for accepting. And maybe, just maybe a tiny bit at himself, for being so arrogant as to reject Merlin.

Merlin…this guy really was an idiot but still…He always was so easy going and cheerful, he had been yesterday, he had been at breakfast and he had been now. It made Arthur feel like he himself was arrogant and it made him feel insensible… Okay, he probably was a bit, just a bit but that didn't mean that this _Mer_lin (Oh, he really loved that name. Ugh…Thought deleted.) could just take Gwaine away from him! But he had offered to be Arthur's partner first and he, well he had rejected him. Man, he wish he hadn't, now he had to do everything alone…

Suddenly Arthur felt a warm hand resting on his shoulder. He slowly turned around and stared directly into Merlin's azure eyes. "Come on, Arthur, I'm sure we can do it in a threesome. Besides, I doubt Gwaine will do anything productive" the raven haired said and smiled a gentle smile at Arthur (While Gwaine was back to sleep). He suddenly felt his previous thoughts leaving his head and Arthur just had to smile back at Merlin. Man, just what was this about him? Always smiling, always bright.

"Thanks, Merlin. I owe you one." he said and tried to keep the happiness out of his voice. "We'll meet at four in the library, you okay with that?"

The guy in front of him just nodded and drove a pale hand through his hair.

"I'll be there, Arthur."

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**A/N:** So, that's it. It was kind of a filler chapter but I had to introduce some important characters and make the foundation for Merlin and Arthur's friendship :) Next chapter will contain some action and there will be Morgana's first appearance! Look forward to it :D It would be really nice if you left a review, they are always much appreciated. Until in a few days, have a good time :)

**by DarkChain**


	3. Smiling Angel

**A/N:** Sorry, this took longer than the previous chapter, but it's finally done! Again, the hugest thanks to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited! :)

You're all great supporters and you make me write faster. I hope you'll like this chapter, I had a hard time writing it somehow… Anyway, on we go :D

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Merlin. Do I have to write that every time?

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**CHAPTER 3: SMILING ANGEL**

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Merlin stared lazily at the blue sky. He was currently lying on a meadow at the campus. He still had an hour or so time before he would meet with Arthur and Gwaine at the library. Today was a sunny day and only a few clouds which looked like sheep covered the sky. Merlin sighed and looked around. There were many other students outside enjoying the good weather. There was no way he could spread his wings like this, what if he was seen, and Merlin started to doubt whether he would ever got to enjoy the feeling of air rushing through his hair or his wings cutting through the clouds again…

With longing glimmering in his eyes he directed his gaze one more time at the clouds, a nostalgic smile found its way onto his face.

Usually, he would challenge Will to a race through the sky, they would have their fun and would end up drenching wet because of flying through the clouds. They would come back totally exhausted and his mother would scold him for getting their house wet. But then she would cook them something, a smile on her face.

Merlin's smile vanished instead it was replaced by a sad look. Oh, he was so _so_ homesick right now… How could he ever manage to remain on the ground when his home was the sky? It was just _unnatural_. Merlin wondered whether every guardian angel had these thoughts. Probably.

With yet another sigh, Merlin looked at his watch. 3:55…. Oh damn, he would be late! (Again, punctuality didn't work with him.)

Merlin stood up, grabbed his bag and was running back into the building in the matter of a few seconds. He raced down the hallways, urgently hoping he was heading into the right direction. When Merlin turned around a corner, he instantly slowed down and grinned at the scene in front of him. There was Gwaine leaning at the wall and obviously flirting with some girl. The girl started to giggle and blushed furiously; Merlin really didn't want to know what Gwaine had just whispered into her ear.

"I guess that means he won't come to the library anytime soon, huh?" Merlin mumbled as he continued walking down the hallway. After a few more corners and stairways (really, just how big _was_ this college?!) Merlin was finally reaching his destination: the library. A quick glance at his watch told him, that it was only five past four, so he wasn't too late.

As Merlin entered the library, he was greeted by _thousands _of books. Every genre had its own section with shelves filled until below the ceiling with books.

After he had looked around in awe, Merlin's eyes searched for Arthur. He finally found him, being hidden behind a pile of books. "Ah, there you are." Arthur greeted him and gestured to a chair for Merlin to sit down. "Now we just have to wait for Gwaine" Arthur said with an annoyed look at his watch.

"Actually" Merlin began after he had sat down next to Arthur "I don't think he will show up here anytime soon." Merlin saw how Arthur raised his eyebrow so he added "I just saw him flirting with some girl and… he seemed occupied" Arthur rolled his stormy eyes and sighed. "I shouldn't be surprised… Well, then it will just be the two of us for now, huh?"

Merlin couldn't suppress a slight smile. "So, what's going to be our topic for the presentation?" he asked eyeing the books in front of them.

Arthur just shrugged "I don't know, maybe the figure of speech and an interpretation? Or maybe a psychological analysis of the characters?" he suggested.

Merlin groaned and his shoulders slumped down. "That sounds so horribly, utterly, endlessly, indescribably _boring_!" he complained. "Can't we do something, you know, more _fun_?"

Arthur just shook his head "And what would you suggest, _Mer_lin?" Merlin's face fell even after he had thought about the question a few seconds more "I just realized something…" he whispered. "Everything about this stupid book is just so bloody boring! It doesn't even make sense!"

Arthur just had to chuckle at the pouting boy in front of him and Merlin frowned. "What's so funny?" he demanded.

After a while, Arthur managed to stop his laughter. He stared at Merlin for a moment, blue eyes meeting each other. After a while, Arthur too started to frown. "Actually…I don't know…I just thought, well…You somehow made me laugh…" he said yet not knowing what he actually wanted to say.

Merlin looked at his protégé, a startled look on his face. What was he saying, he didn't _know?_ How could one not know why they were laughing? Merlin broke his gaze away from Arthur's eyes and instead directed it at one of the books. "Anyway, I think a psychological analysis would be better..." he mumbled trying to break the awkward silence.

Arthur rubbed the back of his neck and also averted his eyes "Sure, why not…"

They both grabbed some books and started reading, sometimes making a note or two. But Merlin couldn't quite concentrate, there still was this uncomfortable silence lying over them like some sort of curse. This time, it was Arthur who broke it. "Say, why did you come to the CPC in the first place? Got some special reason?"

Merlin' eyes grew wide for a second before he narrowed them. Damn, he had to think up a lie as fast as he could. He both was happy and sad that it was easy for him to lie. "Oh, you know, I've gotten a scholarship. I went to a really run-down college in Wales before I came here. Imagine, their library consisted of ten shelves! Only _ten_!" he lied like he was trained to with a smile on his face. It made his heart ache. "I'm really happy to be here though, even if I'm a little homesick sometimes" At least that was true. Merlin hated lying, but he understood why it was important for all guardian angels to do so. Humanity would probably hunt them down and throw them into some weird laboratory if they ever found out.

Arthur just looked at Merlin with a strange look in his eyes that Merlin couldn't read. It kind of made him nervous, like being judged.

Just when Arthur was about to open his mouth again, Gwaine came rushing into the library. "Sorry, I'm late" he managed to say with a short breath, he had obviously been running the way here. "I totally lost track of time…"

Merlin and Arthur just started to chuckle after they had exchanged a look. Gwaine raised his eyebrow and just looked back and forth between the two guys sitting in front of him, laughing in union. "What're you giggling 'bout?"

They stopped and Arthur started to frown. "First of all: We are not _giggling. _Second: You're an _hour _too late. Seriously, a whole _hour_! And third: Merlin saw what you were…occupied with." Arthur looked over to Merlin and they both broke out in laughter again.

Gwaine just grinned. "Well, no use denying it then" he said as he sat down next to Merlin. "So…What's our topic then?"

"We decided for a character analysis" Merlin explained and let out a bored sigh.

"Whose stupid idea was that?! That's the most boring thing we could do!" Gwaine exclaimed and banged his head against the table.

"Just what is _wrong _with you?!" Merlin's protégé scolded "That's a really good idea if you ask me!"

"It was princess's suggestion, huh?"

"Of course"

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Two hours later, Gwaine clapped his book shut and tossed it onto the growing pile. "It's time for supper" he complained, accompanied by a growl of his stomach.

Arthur just gave a slight smile and started to put away the books. "I think we've done enough for today, we deserve our food." He turned around and looked Merlin over. Suddenly, Arthur narrowed his eyes. "You really need to eat." Merlin just gave him a startled "Huh?"

Arthur sighed and rested his hands on his hips. "I said, you need to eat, _Mer_lin. You're just too skinny!" Really, what was with this guy, he looked like the slightest wind would blow him away. This couldn't possibly be healthy. Arthur watched as a smile formed on Merlin's lips.

"Oh Arthur, you just say that because you're-"Merlin was interrupted midsentence by Arthur's shouting.

"I'm not fat! Idiot!" His face was slightly red and he was obviously huffing. He really wasn't fat, why did everyone think that?!

Arthur didn't want to look at Merlin, so he turned around, staring at the wall while he heard a muffled laugh from Gwaine. Suddenly, Arthur felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around. Blue eyes met and he felt like he had a déjà vu. It was just like today morning, he thought. It was the same touch and those were the same eyes.

"I wanted to say _concerned_… 'You just say that because you're concerned for my health.'" Merlin explained with a warm smile on his face, his azure eyes shining.

_The smile of an angel… _Arthur thought. He blushed a little at his stupidity. "Sorry, Merlin. For shouting at you…" he mumbled slightly ashamed and looked at the ground. He didn't want to meet those eyes, they were too deep and ways to wise for someone like Merlin. It was as if they belonged to someone else…

"Don't worry, let's just go eat something." he heard Merlin saying and smiled at him. He followed the raven haired boy and they left a baffled Gwaine behind.

Just what the hell had this new guy done to Arthur?! Arthur had _apologized_! He had been so _cautious_ and not like the boisterous and arrogant princess he had been this morning. Arthur only knew this guy for 24 hours and yet he behaved so differently around him. It was like Merlin had a good influence, but in just _one_ day was ridiculous! They knew like nothing about him and yet it was like he had always been part of Arthur's live. The only other person that affected him like that was Gwen, but at least he knew her for some time. This Merlin guy really had something strange about him, something untouchable…

Gwaine just smiled to himself as he followed the two guys in front of him.

They were walking next to each other and it seemed natural, as if this was the way it should be.

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"You have to eat up" Arthur demanded and pushed the plate over to Merlin. The raven haired just groaned and pushed it away again. "But I'm _full"_he complained. Gwaine just chuckled and patted Merlin on the shoulder. "You don't have to eat it, one fat guy is enough"

Arthur just pushed the plate over to Merlin again. "Oh, _shut up_, Gwaine."

Gwaine just grinned and slung an arm around Arthur's shoulder. "So, when is practice this week? I know you handed out a schedule…But, let's say I lost it" Arthur just chuckled, not being surprised in the slightest, but appreciating the interest that Gwaine showed. "It's on Thursday, 5 o'clock. Make sure you come"

"What kind of practice?" Merlin asked curiously while Arthur wrote down the date and time on a piece of paper. "Oh yeah, you don't know. Arthur and I are in the fencing team" Gwaine explained grinning. "And in addition he's the captain" he pointed at Arthur who just smirked, his pride being evident on his face. Merlin inwardly rolled his eyes. Such a prat.

"Oh, that sounds interesting" he admitted. Gwaine laughed and patted Merlin on the back. "It sure is. Hey, why don't you come too?" he offered to a stunned Merlin. "Really? Can I?" he asked doubting. "Gwaine, I don't think he's…" Arthur looked Merlin over "…suited for being a fencer."

Merlin just gave a fake pout, but then smiled one of his always bright smiles. "Don't worry, I would prefer to watch _you_ doing the fencing." Arthur didn't look Merlin in the eyes but he could see a smile tug at his protégé's lips. "Then it's alright I guess" he mumbled and handed Gwaine the previously written on paper.

The brunet tugged it into his pocket and a wide grin started to spread on his face.

"_Say_, princess, you've got any plans for tonight?" Arthur sighed annoyed and rolled his eyes. "Don't even _think_ about it Gwaine. I'm not going out with you again." He remembered his last hangover all too well.

Gwaine looked at the blond with big eyes. "_Please_, Arthur! I already asked everyone! Come on, you need some fun, mate!"

Before Arthur could even answer, Gwaine turned over to Merlin. "You can come too, Merlin. I promise it will be fun." Merlin saw how Arthur violently shook his head behind Gwaine's back and he had to suppress a chuckle. "Sorry, Gwaine, but I've still got a lot of things to do, you know, paper stuff and such." It hurt Merlin too see Gwaine's disappointed expression, but he soon grinned again and nodded. "I totally understand that, mate. Then it will only be the two of us, eh?" He said cheerfully and started to drag Arthur away, ignoring his protests. "See you later, Merlin!" Gwaine exclaimed as he dragged Arthur out of the cafeteria. "But Gwaine, I don't want _to_!" Merlin heard Arthur shout even after he was out of sight.

I slight frown appeared on Merlin's face. He had a strange feeling about this. Something was going to happen, he was sure about it. Maybe he just should've agreed to accompany them? Merlin sighed and put his still full plate away. Well, there was nothing he could do about it now. Of course he could follow his protégé, just in case… What if he got attacked? Or had an accident? Or got lost? How could Arthur even _survive _without him?

Merlin inwardly scolded himself, he was just being paranoid. Arthur could surely take care of himself.

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"Why am I here, again?" Arthur asked bored as he stared into the bottom of his glass filled with ale. He waited some time for a response, but when he didn't hear anything he turned his head around to where Gwaine had been sitting. Man, were did this idiot go off to now? Arthur's eyes searched the bar they were currently sitting in. It was filled with people in their age, mostly students. Arthur even saw some faces he recognized from the CPC.

His gaze landed on a certain brunet…who was snogging with some girl. "Oh, _come on!_ First, you drag me all the way here and then you just leave me sitting alone being too occupied with snogging! That's enough, I'm leaving." He exclaimed, doubting that Gwaine would even hear him. With a sigh, Arthur heaved himself up from his chair and headed towards the exit. It ended like this way too often.

A few minutes later, Arthur walked down a small alley that led to the CPC. It was the same alley where he had gotten attacked yesterday; it somehow felt like that had been ages ago already.

As Arthur was just about to round the corner, he bumped into someone. Someone really big. And bulky. Uh-oh. Arthur could still feel the wounds of his last battle and he already shielded himself for another. He took a deep breath and slowly looked up into the face of the guy that had insulted him yesterday.

How could it only have been yesterday? It felt like long ago somehow.

"Oh, look who we've got here! If it isn't the little Pendragon" the bulk slurred with a smirk on his face, his eyes glinting.

"Did you just say Pendragon?" Arthur heard a female voice say and he instantly narrowed his eyes. "Morgana" he whispered, bitterness evident in his voice.

A girl with long black hair and pale skin came around the corner, followed by a bunch of guys. A smirk was resting on her lips, her cold eyes eying him closely.

"Well, long time no see, _dear brother_" she said and rested her hands on her hips. "I would really love to have a little chat with you" she stepped up to him and leaned closer "But unfortunately, I have to prepare some things for the tournament. I heard you'll participate as well?" she asked, an unspoken threat filling the air between them with crackling tension.

Arthur held up his head, so he could look down on his little sister. "You're well informed. And I'm planning on winning it" he said confidently, he knew he was able to do it. No, he wasn't just arrogant, he trusted in his abilities and in those of his team mates. They were the best fencers the CPC had ever seen, after all.

Morgana just laughed at this statement, a cold, humorless laugh. "I wouldn't be so sure of that, if I were you. I'm not going to make it easy for you."

Arthur just snorted and crossed his arms in front of his chest "I don't doubt that" he said matter of factly.

"Well, I must leave you now, brother." Morgana slurred, a smirk again taking over her features. "I'll leave him to you" She just turned around and walked away, leaving Arthur behind with the bunch of bulks.

He gulped. That wouldn't be fun.

"Let's rough him up a bit" the biggest guy suggested. A mumble of agreement was heard in the rows. Slowly, they approached Arthur like a cat the mouse.

Arthur instantly swapped into fighting move. His brain stopped thinking and his instincts took over. Dodging a punch. Dashing out of the way when someone came too close. Blocking a kick. Again dodging a punch. As soon as possible getting back up after being thrown to the ground. Kicking someone into the gut. Ignoring the pain. Sending the fist towards a jaw. He continued like this and managed to fight off two of the five guys. They were lying on the ground now, trying to get out of the crowd of fists and boots. Then suddenly something happened, he didn't see coming. Someone hit him with an unknown objected over the head and Arthur felt a pain like someone was splitting his skull into two halves.

He gasped in pain and his vision began to swim before his eyes. In that moment his face met the hard ground and Arthur lost hold of his senses.

The last thing he noticed, before he was passing out, was someone screaming his name. "Arthur! Arthur where are- Oh no, Arthur! Hey you! Stop that! Arthur, can you hear me? Arthur? Arthur! You! What did you do to him?!"

Arthur recognized this voice. It was Merlin's. He sounded so angry and concerned. Concerned for him… But he didn't even know him; they only met two days ago.

Then why was Merlin so worried about him?

That was the last thing Arthur thought about before his world went totally black.

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Merlin worried. He didn't know why, maybe it was his instinct, maybe it was his connection to his protégé or maybe it was the little part of his brain that told him, why would someone need a guardian angel if they didn't need protection?

So he made his way to the dorms, worry clearly written on his face. Yeah, he knew worrying wouldn't do any good; it would only cloud his mind.

He worried nevertheless.

"You know what they say" he heard a female voice behind his back. "Worrying doesn't take away tomorrow's troubles; it takes away today's peace"

Merlin turned around and wasn't surprised when he faced Gwen; a warm smile present on her lips.

"So you noticed?" he asked although he already knew the answer. "Of course I did. What occupies your mind?"

"Well" Merlin sighed "I don't know, exactly. I just have…a funny feeling about Arthur going out tonight" Merlin looked out of the window, the sun was already setting.

He heard a slight chuckle coming from Gwen. "You're so nice, Merlin. You only met Arthur yesterday but you already care for him like a brother."

Merlin avoided her eyes as a tiny blush appeared in his face. He looked up as he heard the change of Gwen's voice when she continued to speak.

"I think your concern might not be unreasonable. Arthur gets into fights a lot these days" Merlin felt like his inwards cramped. His protégé got into fights? How could he still be standing here! He should instantly hurry after him, make sure he's alright. Merlin decided he would go searching for Arthur as soon as he could, but he had to gather some information beforehand.

"Fights?" he asked Gwen "Who does he fight with?"

She hesitated and took in a deep breath. Merlin had the feeling, that a _long_ story was about to be told.

"I guess you know that the headmaster, Uther Pendragon, is Arthur's father?" She started and when Merlin nodded continued "Well, Arthur's mother has died shortly after she had given birth to him." A sad look crossed Merlin's face. He knew what it was like to grow up with just one parent; he had never met his father…

"Well, apparently Uther had an affair with another woman at that time. Like this, Arthur's half-sister Morgana was born." Merlin was slightly shocked. His protégé had a_ sister_?

"When they were still little children, Arthur and Morgana really loved each other, how it should be between brother and sister. But when Morgana found out that she was only his _half_-sister, she started to hate Uther. The hatred in her heart grew on and on with every word Uther said and eventually happened to affect her relationship with Arthur. Some years ago, she decided to leave the Pendragon family and is currently living with her half-sister Morgause and goes to the Regional Common College, the RCC. There's a great rivalry between her and Arthur now, some say she even tried to kill him once." Merlin gasped in shock.

She had tried to_ kill _Arthur?! Who in their right mind would do something like this to their own brother, even if it just was a half-brother?!

Merlin clenched his teeth. He understood now why Arthur needed a guardian angel; he was in grave danger whenever he left the campus! Merlin felt his emotions going wild and he really had to keep himself together. Whatever this Morgana was like, whatever reasons she might have, he knew he could never forgive her for trying to hurt his protégé.

Gwen must have seen the look in his eyes, because she looked at him awkwardly. "That's probably just a rumor Merlin… Well, anyway, Morgana has a bunch of guys that always follows her around. They keep on attacking Arthur…" She looked sad as she continued. "He's always hurt. When his injuries are finally healed after a fight, he instantly gets new ones…"

That was too much. Merlin's vision went red with anger. How dared they to hurt his protégé?! He had to protect Arthur. Now. Always. Merlin swore to himself that he would never leave Arthur's side again. It would be uncomfortable at times and there surely would be many questions but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Sorry, Gwen. I have to go now." He brought out between clenched teeth. As he walked, almost ran, away, Merlin felt how his hands balled into fists, his fingernails digging into his palm, leaving traces behind.

A few minutes later, he was running through town, highly concentrating on his senses. He didn't know how, but he was somehow drawn to a dark alley.

That didn't feel good, the alley had the aura of misfortune; Arthur probably walked straight into it. As Merlin was about to cross the empty street, he saw a girl with hair as black as his own leaving the alley. Her cold eyes glinted mischievously and a smirk was resting on her lips.

Morgana… Merlin had never met her before, but he knew for sure who he was looking at. He was really tempted to follow her, but Arthur was his first priority. He would always be.

Merlin was about to round the corner "Arthur! Arthur where are-"Merlin stopped midsentence as he saw Arthur lying on the ground, surrounded by huge guys who were laughing at him and kicking him in the sides. No. They should stop. He couldn't watch this.

"Oh no, Arthur! Hey you! Stop that! Arthur, can you hear me? Arthur? Arthur! You! What did you do to him?!" He shouted at them angrily, his voice being low and dangerous. They just turned around surprised and started to laugh as they saw him. He didn't hear their laughs, he didn't hear their insults.

Everything he heard was the blood rushing through his head, everything he saw was Arthur lying unconscious on the ground, everything he felt was pure, ultimate rage, fury, anger, and concern.

Merlin felt like his blood started burning, his back suddenly started itching. He knew he was losing control, he knew he was overreacting but he just didn't care. He didn't even care that they would see his wings, they wouldn't remember anyway and no one would believe them if they talked about it.

He was suddenly getting hot, as if every cell in his body was burning; Merlin even felt the blue contacts in his eyes melting away. His eyes shone a bright gold and he was amused to see the fear in the bulks' eyes. That's right; everyone who hurt Arthur should learn to stay away from him.

Merlin felt sharp pain in his back and he couldn't suppress a smile when his wings broke through. He felt complete again, he had really missed it.

With a tearing sound, his huge white wings unfolded on his back. His shirt was ruined now, but he wasn't stupid. (Even if Arthur begged to differ.)

He was always having extra contacts and an extra shirt in his bag, just for the case.

Merlin looked up into the faces of the bulks, a huge grin on his face. They were speechless, eyes as wide as plates, shaking and pale. If they were smarter than they looked, they would be running by now. Merlin wasn't fond of using violence, he would try to scare them away first.

"I'm going to do what I exist for. I'm going to protect Arthur" he whispered and gathered all his strength.

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**A/N:** So, here the chapter ends, kind of cliffhangerly, I hope you liked it :) The next chapter contains: awesome angel power, some fencing and a meeting with Gaius' eyebrow! Look forward to it :D

I would greatly appreciate a review of any kind or a follow/favorite :) Until next time~

**by DarkChain**


	4. Caring Angel

**A/N:** I'm really sorry that this chapter took longer than expected, but I just had so much stuff to do this week. Anyway, here it is :) Like always, the hugest of thanks to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited ; you really are great readers :D Without further ado, here's the next chapter. Enjoy! :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Merlin and I probably never will. Oh well.

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**CHAPTER 4: CARING ANGEL**

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Merlin stood there in the dark alley, his heart racing and his mind focused. His white wings spread from wall to wall, blocking the way out. The five men in front of him started to run away, but Merlin decided that they wouldn't get away like that. He slowly raised his hand and a barrier appeared around them. One of the guys walked straight into it and stumbled to the ground. "W-what a-are you d-doing, you monster!" he stuttered and scrambled as far away from Merlin as he could.

Merlin noticed how one of the guys started to type something on his phone. "No, you won't" he said with stern voice and the phone suddenly flew out of the man's hand. He turned to look at Merlin with horror and shook in his eyes. Suddenly, they rolled back in his head and the man landed unconsciously on the ground.

"Oi, what did you just do to him?!" the guy who seemed to be the leader shouted and pointed his finger at Merlin.

Merlin just rolled his eyes and crossed the arms in front of his chest. "I did nothing, he passed out from fear" he explained, unable to suppress a smug grin.

Suddenly one of the guys came running towards him, swinging a baseball bat over his head. That must be what had knocked Arthur over. Merlin gritted his teeth angrily at the thought of his protégé who lay unconscious behind him. He had to finish this quickly and get Arthur back to the college.

Merlin stretched out his arm and the baseball bat slowed down so that Merlin could just grab it and throw it to the other side of the alley. The man the thing belonged to glared at him and Merlin saw a fist nearing his face. In a swift motion he beat his wings and the guy was thrown backwards by the developed winds.

The man landed several feet away. "N-no, get away from me you wretch!" He screamed and scrambled away until his back hit the barrier.

When Merlin was just about to raise his hand again, he heard a groan from behind him. He froze; his hand half raised as his eyes widened.

Arthur was already waking up! Merlin had to be quick; he couldn't allow his protégé to see him like that. In the fraction of a second, Merlin had his hand raised high above his head, a soft glimmer spreading from it towards the scared men. The glimmer slowly spread around them like fog and their eyes fluttered shut.

"That should let them sleep for a while…" Merlin muttered as he turned around to Arthur. His eyelids fluttered and he started to move.

With a sigh, Merlin's wings folded themselves together and disappeared into his back, leaving him with a torn apart shirt.

Merlin quickly pulled it over his head and replaced it with one that looked exactly the same. With a small smile on his lips, he put a new pair of sea blue contacts into his eyes. He looked just like any other guy now again, nothing special.

Merlin kneeled down besides Arthur; a slightly concerned frown on his face. "Arthur?" he asked with a gentle tone, his hand resting on his protégé's shoulder.

Arthur turned his head to where Merlin's voice had come from and slowly opened his heavy eyelids. His stormy blue eyes were clouded and he needed a minute to be able to focus on Merlin's face. Confusion was visible in his eyes and Arthur started to frown.

"Merlin? What are you doing here?" he asked as he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position.

Merlin greeted the blond with a soft smile. "I had a strange feeling, so I went looking for you. Then I found you in this alley, being unconscious" he explained, his hand still resting on Arthur's shoulder. He didn't seem to be bothered by the touch and Merlin wasn't considering removing his hand anytime soon.

"Oh yeah, I- ouch!" Arthur's hand shot up to his head as he winced in pain, his vision starting to blur.

"Arthur? Are you alright? Where does it hurt?" Merlin's voice was practically dripping with worry while he stared into Arthur's bleary vision. He could feel the pain radiate from his protégé and it made him ache, as if _he _was the injured one. He couldn't bear this any second longer; he wanted to free Arthur from his pain.

"M-my head…" Arthur mumbled weakly, rubbing the back of his head. "It feels like someone opened a coconut with it…"

Suddenly, his eyes rolled back in his head and Arthur passed out again. Merlin laid him down gently, his hand brushing some strands of golden hair out of his face.

"Don't worry, Arthur. I'll make the pain go away…" Merlin whispered as he laid his right hand on Arthur's head.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the pain he could feel coming from Arthur's head. With a deep breath, Merlin's hand started to glow and the pain slowly ebbed away out of Arthur's body. If he had done everything right, Arthur shouldn't feel any pain at all, not even from his bruises and scratches. Merlin wasn't an expert in healing, but he knew how to dispose of pain for some days. He was just glad that he could help Arthur. With a sigh, Merlin stood up and heaved Arthur over his shoulder, like a sack potatoes. With a smile tugging on his lips, he slowly made his way to the college. Arthur needed a proper check over, just in case he was more hurt than it seemed.

So, next stop: The college doctor.

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Merlin entered the room after a short knock, not having the time to wait for allowance. It was already 2 o' clock in the morning after all. And Merlin was terribly tired; he could feel his mind going into sleepy mode. Oh yeah, there also was a heavy Arthur lying over his shoulder; that wasn't really pleasant, Merlin was sure to have a muscle ache tomorrow. So he stepped into the room, feeling slightly like an intruder.

"Umm, hello? Somebody here?" he asked into the dark room while he laid Arthur down on a bed that stood in the corner of the room. Suddenly, the lights went on and Merlin could see the room properly. There were many shelves with books on the walls and two beds stood in the corner. Merlin also noticed a cupboard with medicaments and a table with some papers lying on it.

With a creaking noise, the door at the back of the room opened and an old man with glasses and shoulder long white hair stepped in.

The man eyed Merlin suspiciously and one of his eyebrows rose to an amazingly height. "What can I do for you?" he asked while stepping up to Merlin.

Merlin's gaze flickered to Arthur and then rested on the old man again. "Err… I found him unconscious… Maybe you should check him over?"

It was only now that the old man noticed the blond lying on the bed in the corner, sleeping soundly with a soft smile on his face. "Again?" he mumbled, walking over to his new patient. He had a big bump on his head, some fresh bruises and scratches, but nothing serious. It was really remarkable how Arthur could even sleep like that; he surely must have been at least a little in pain. "He should be fine" Gaius explained and heard a relieved sigh from behind him.

With a raised eyebrow Gaius turned around to the raven haired boy who stood awkwardly besides the table, looking at Arthur with gladness in his azure blue eyes. "Say, what's your name again?"

The boy looked a little startled but soon a smile found its way onto his features. "I'm Merlin" he introduced himself and held out his hand. "You must be Gaius."

Gaius took the younger man's hand and shook it; a little confusion hidden behind his smile. Merlin… He knew that name… Just where had he heard it?

Gaius' thoughtful gaze flickered from Merlin to Arthur and back again. Could it be…?

Merlin looked at the older man in front of him with question in his eyes. "Is something the matter?" Gaius just shook his head. "I was just about to make some tea, would you like some as well?"

Gaius was greeted by a big grin and even though he could see the deep tiredness in Merlin's eyes, the boy nodded and let himself drop onto one of the chairs at the table. "Sure, why not?"

When Gaius came back with two cups of steaming earl grey, Merlin really had to try hard not to fall asleep in this very second. With a yawn he took the cup and started to sip at it. After a while, he noticed that Gaius was staring at him. "Gaius?" he asked with a tilted head. What was the old man thinking about?

"Say, Merlin, is something wrong with your eyes?"

Merlin looked at the older man, confusion evident on his face. "Er…no?" he responded, suddenly becoming nervous. He was sure he had put in new contacts, Gaius couldn't see the golden color, it was thoroughly hidden. "Why do you ask?" he asked, looking at Gaius with suspicion. That surely was a strange question to ask in the middle of the night. Except one was sure there was something wrong with the eyes! Merlin knew he was driving himself insane with these thoughts but he was too tired to try and calm himself. That would be wasted energy.

"Oh, I just wondered...Are you by any chance related to Hunith?"

Merlin's jaw dropped and his eyes widened to the size of plates. Gaius knew his _mother_?

"You know my _mother_?" Merlin voiced his thoughts, disbelief lingering in his voice. He watched how Gaius started to smile a knowing smile.

"I'm a guardian angel as well" Gaius explained to the still baffled Merlin. "My protégé is Uther; I'm protecting him for many years now"

Slowly, a huge smile spread across Merlin's face. His chest warmed up and every thought of tiredness had vanished. Now, he had someone to talk to, someone to share his fears and thoughts with, someone to trust, someone who could really understand his situation and help him. Someone who could guide him.

"I hope you're not tired Gaius. There are so many things I want to ask you!"

Gaius chuckled as he saw the excitement in the younger angel's eyes.

This was going to be an even longer night, but Gaius didn't mind.

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Arthur thought he once again would awake in pain, but this time he didn't. That was new.

He groggily opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. This wasn't his room. With a sigh, Arthur pushed himself into a sitting position, confusedly looking around. This looked like the room where Gaius treated his patients. Ah, that made sense now; hadn't he had a fight yesterday? Arthur had kind of expected to wake up in a dirty alley, his body aching and his head throbbing, but he felt just fine. Almost perfect. It was really strange, even the bruises from earlier this week didn't hurt anymore. What had Gaius done to him? And how did he even get here? Arthur scrunched his eyes while he tried to remember last night's events.

Suddenly, the image of worried looking Merlin leaning over him appeared in his mind and Arthur couldn't suppress a soft smile.

So Merlin had carried him up here. It must have been really hard; Arthur felt somehow happy that the raven haired had cared about him. He didn't even know him, yet Merlin treated him as if he was his friend. Were they friends already? Arthur didn't know and he felt a little embarrassed that he wished they were. To carry someone in the middle of the night through a dark cold street was something only friends would do, right? How did that scrawny guy even manage to lift him? Arthur decided to ask Merlin about it when he saw him again. (About the lifting him thing, not whether they were friends. Arthur didn't care at all.)

He slowly climbed out of the bed, there was no sign of Gaius or anybody else in the room, so Arthur just left the room with a shrug. He felt healthier than he had the last weeks, so why should he stay in there any longer? A quick glance at his watch told Arthur that breakfast was long over and the lessons had already started. Oh well, he would skip today, he needed to shower first anyway. After that it would almost be time for lunch; Arthur silently hoped that Merlin would be there, he really wanted to talk to him.

Arthur suddenly stopped in his tracks, his expression changing into a thoughtful one. He just remembered something… He remembered hearing Merlin say something while he was passing out the second time. It was something like: 'Don't worry, Arthur. I'll make the pain go away…'

What could Merlin possibly have meant with that? Arthur slowly looked down his right arm; there was a pretty bad bruise spreading over it; and he poked it with his finger. Normally, he would expect some kind of pain, but he didn't feel anything. At best some kind of tickling, but surely not more.

Arthur was confused as he walked towards his room. But he did what he always did when he was confused: He just shrugged and let the matter drop.

After Arthur had showered and dressed, he made his way towards the cafeteria, since he suddenly felt terribly hungry. He was currently walking down a hallway, when he felt someone watching him.

As Arthur turned around, he noticed someone standing in the hallway. "Father" he spoke up, walking towards the figure.

"Arthur" Uther greeted without changing his expression. Arthur sighed inwardly; his father was always so _cold,_ never showing appreciation. One of Arthur's greatest fears was that he would become like his father; it made him shiver just to think about it.

Arthur suddenly remembered the letter which Gaius had given him the day before. It had been really important, right?

"I have something Gaius gave me for you" he explained while rummaging through his bag in search for the ominous letter. After he found it he quickly handed it over to his father. The older man took it with a short nod and immediately tucked it into his briefcase.

Uther now started to look Arthur over and his cold eyes rested on the bruises and scratches. "You got into a fight again." he stated, his eyes narrowing a bit.

"Did you visit Gaius already?" he asked, but his expression showed no concern. He even looked a little disappointed and Arthur wanted this conversation to end as soon as possible. "Yes, I did" he responded without mentioning Merlin and the other events that night.

"Good, good. I have important matters to attend to. And you should continue your training, remember, the big tournament takes place in about a month." Uther said urgently. Arthur just nodded, presenting his father a small false smile. "Yes, father. I can reassure you that I've made improvement".

With a nod, Uther turned around and walked down the hallway. As soon as his father was out of sight, Arthur sight and drove a hand through his hair. It was always so uncomfortable to talk to his father. Arthur just shook his head, trying to get the feeling away as he walked towards the cafeteria.

A few minutes later, Arthur entered the almost completely empty cafeteria. The most students were already finished with eating and had left the cafeteria. Arthur slowly looked around; there was no sign of Gwen, Gwaine and the others; they must have gone already.

Arthur suddenly spotted a certain raven haired, sitting alone at a table in the back, his head resting on his arms. With a smile on his face, Arthur made his way over to Merlin and dumped his tray in front of his face. With a yelp the younger one sat up straight, looking around confusedly. His dark hair was ruffled and he had dark rings under his eyes. "What the-? Arthur! Don't surprise me like that!" Merlin complained while Arthur sat down next to him. His protégé had just snapped him out of his slumber and that after he had just slept three hours last night! He really needed some sleep; he had talked to Gaius for two entire hours last night, after all.

"It's not my fault you're sleeping during lunch!" Arthur huffed and started to eat; his stomach feeling as empty as it never had before.

"Practically, it is." Merlin retorted with crossed arms; leaving out the part with Gaius.

Arthur instantly blushed, remembering last night's events. Merlin had dragged him all the way to the college after all.

"Umm…I just…. Thank you" The blond stumbled while picking around in his food. His eyes were fixated onto his plate, not wanting to meet the blue ones of Merlin. He was the reason that Merlin was tired…

Suddenly, Arthur heard a chuckle coming from Merlin and he couldn't help but turn around and look at the raven haired. His azure eyes were sparkling and a soft smile was visible on his pale face. "You don't have to thank me for that; everyone would have helped you." Merlin pointed out with a grin.

But Arthur knew that wasn't true. Merlin had even come searching for him, let alone finding and helping him. It wasn't something many people would do for someone you only knew for a day. Merlin was so kindhearted and it seemed like he was caring for Arthur pretty much. But seriously, he had come searching for Arthur just because he had had some funny feeling! Who on earth would do that? How did he even find him? Merlin was new here and barely knew the town, let alone the pub that Gwaine and he had been in. It must have been a big coincidence if he had found an unconscious Arthur lying in an alley, surrounded by some bulks- wait. What happened to them? They were still there when he had passed out for the first time; he remembered hearing Merlin shouting at them… But what had happened then? Arthur's gaze rested on the skinny boy in front of him.

"I'll say it again, staring is impolite."

Arthur was suddenly torn from his thoughts and shook his head to clear his mind. "I have to go." Arthur mumbled as he stood up, leaving his tray lying on the table.

Merlin stared after him with confusion, as his protégé just left the room without another word.

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Merlin slowly opened the door to the gym, curiously peeking inside. "Ah, there you are, mate! You actually came, I thought you would forget."

Gwaine instantly came rushing towards Merlin, already wearing his protective clothing, the mask clamped under his arm. With a slap onto the shoulder, Merlin was invited into the gym.

"The only one who could forget is _you_, Gwaine" Elyan remarked as Merlin was led towards a bench. "Just make yourself comfortable and watch, Merlin. If you're lucky, you can watch me beating Arthur!" Gwaine exclaimed, only receiving rolled eyes and snorts. Everyone knew that no one could beat Arthur; he was the best of all of them and he was their captain.

"Alright, men, stop babbling, start training!" the blond shouted from across the gym and everyone put on their masks and grabbed their epees.

They all started fighting, but Merlin's eyes only rested on Arthur. He was moving fast and coordinated; attacking with strength but also grace. He was doing the moves so naturally, as if he hadn't been doing anything else his entire life. He landed several hits on Gwaine's chest but parried almost every attack of the brunet.

Merlin had fun watching, he really did, and after some time, he unwillingly found himself cheering. "Good move, Arthur!" he would occasionally shout.

He even clapped enthusiastically whenever Arthur won a practice match. What Merlin didn't know, was how much he was encouraging Arthur.

When Merlin shouted for the first time, Arthur was a little bit startled by the sudden noise. But then a smile took over his features and he started fighting with new effort. He wanted to impress Merlin somehow, wanted him to cherish Arthur. After Arthur had won his first match, he looked over to Merlin, who was clapping, a huge grin on his face. Arthur felt strangely warm inside his chest. It was good feeling appreciation from someone he barely knew; it was good being the reason for the smile on Merlin's face.

When the training was over, Arthur quickly made a decision. He wanted Merlin to be at ever match he was fighting, wanted to show off in front of him. (Not that he was showing of, he was just…presenting his skills. Yeah, exactly that.) So he pulled of his mask and walked over towards the young man sitting on the bench. He avoided his eyes, afraid the raven haired could read his expression.

"You know, _Mer_lin, we still need a mascot. Interested?"

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**A/N:** So another chapter ends. I really hope you liked :) Like always, I would greatly appreciate a review from you, they help me writing faster :D The next chapter contains: Morgana, Mordred and some Merlin/Arthur friendship improvement! Yay! :D

Until next time~

**by DarkChain**


	5. Befriending Angel

**A/N:** Hello, I'm back with the next chapter :) I must once again thank you all for your support; everyone who followed/favorite/reviewed gets special thanks! :D I hope you will like this chapter as much as you did the others, like always I did my best :) There isn't really any action in here, but it's an important chapter nonetheless. Read and enjoy! :D

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Merlin. At least not in _this_ world… (Alright, that was lame.)

**CHAPTER 5: BEFRIENDING ANGEL**

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Merlin didn't know that being a mascot involved carrying around Arthur's stuff. Apparently, it did.

And the worst part of it was that Arthur's stuff was really heavy and this damn college was just too big! Let alone the way from the gym to Arthur's room contained four stairways with each one hundred steps! How was Merlin supposed to manage carrying tons of fencing equipment all the way?! And that three times a week! That was just insane; this task had nothing to do with being a _mascot_. He wanted to quit the job, but he couldn't possibly give in after just one week!

Merlin really doubted his sanity as he forced himself up the last stairs. Why on earth had he agreed to be a mascot in the first place? He wished he hadn't…

With a sigh, Merlin rounded the last corner before he entered the hallway that led to Arthur's room. When Merlin saw two figures standing in front of Arthur's door, Merlin stopped in his tracks and quickly hid behind the corner. With curiosity dwelling up inside him, the young angel peeked around the corner and eyed the two people with suspicion. He identified the taller person as the girl with the dark hair that he had seen some days ago. Morgana Pendragon-Arthur's half sister.

Next to her stood a boy who seemed to be some years younger than Merlin, maybe around sixteen. He also had dark hair and piercing grey eyes and he stood with confidence next to Morgana, constantly looking up to her. What were those two doing in front of Arthur's room? They weren't even from this college!

That was highly suspicious. Ignoring the dull ache spreading in Merlin's arms (he was still holding Arthur's heavy stuff after all) he continued to stand there and watch those two. He felt a twinge of burning anger in his stomach whenever he looked at Morgana, since she had let her so called 'fans' beaten Arthur up. More than once. But Merlin managed to push his feelings aside and remain calm. He had to find out what was going on here.

He listened very carefully and tried to understand the context of their conversation.

"-his room."

Morgana smiled- no, smirked at the younger one next to her and she let a pale hand of hers rest on his shoulder.

"Good work, Mordred. I expected nothing less from you"

So the younger boy was named Mordred. That was kind of a strange name… Oh well, Merlin wasn't all that common either.

"I've just done my job. Now, shall we go inside?" The boy called Mordred offered and opened the door. Merlin's eyes narrowed and he considered what to do next. He couldn't possibly let those two break into Arthur's room; they must have picked the lock already. But on the other hand, he was curious to find out what they wanted to do in there.

Merlin guessed he should stop them from entering, so he stepped around the corner, a false smile on his lips.

"Oh, are you two friends of Arthur? If you are searching for him, he is currently in the gym" he said cheerfully as he walked over to Morgana and Mordred.

The younger boy had instantly shut the door when he had heard Merlin coming, now wearing an annoyed look on his face. "Thanks for informing us" Morgana pressed out between gritted teeth as she turned around and walked down the hallway. Mordred shot a deadly glare at Merlin and followed her.

Merlin just stood there and stared after them. The boy, Mordred, seemed to have an interesting aura… Certainly not one a human would posses.

But if he wasn't human, and he certainly wasn't an angel either…Then what was he?

Merlin shook his head to clear his mind as entered Arthur's room. He would just ask Gaius about them later.

After a little shuffling through Arthur's messy room, Merlin had finally put away all of his protégé's equipment. With a satisfied smile on his lips, the raven haired left the room and closed the door behind him, quickly locking it with the second key. Merlin was quite proud of himself, that Arthur had trusted him so much as to give him permanent access to his room. That meant quite much to the young guardian angel.

A quick glance at his watch told Merlin that he still had about an hour left before it was time for supper, so he decided to visit a certain old angel.

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"So, you want to tell me that you saw Arthur's half-sister together with a boy, who you think is neither a human nor an angel, trying to break into Arthur's room?"

Merlin grinned at the older man in front of him. "That's exactly what I wanted to explain" The raven haired sipped at his tea and glanced at Gaius expectantly.

"Now, Gaius, what do you think that means?"

The older man looked out of the window for a split second before his gaze met the younger one's. "Nothing good, my boy."

Merlin looked at him, his pseudo blue eyes wide with curiosity. "What do you mean by that? You know what this Mordred could be, right?"

There was silence for a few minutes until Gaius finally said: "Do you know what happens when an angel doesn't fulfill their duty?"

Merlin just shook his head, waiting for Gaius to continue.

"If an angel doesn't obey to the rules or doesn't fulfill the purpose they are given, this angel will have to face the court. The mostly distributed punishment is the banishment from the heavens. In this case, the angel's wings are torn out and they will have to live on earth as a mere human. In the worst case, they will be imprisoned. And in the rare occasion someone manages to escape from this prison, and believe me, that's a difficult thing to achieve, those angels normally return to the earth, since they can't go back to the heavens anymore."

Merlin stared at him with furrowed eyebrows. "So you mean Mordred is one of these angels? His aura didn't feel like of an angel at all…"

"That's because their nature changes. They become evil beings, even if they once had a pure heart as every angel should. Some say that it has something to do with the loss of their wings. Since they are bound to earth and can't rise to the heavens again, we usually call them 'fallen angels'. It also comes from the fact that they have lost their right path; they walk on earth without any morals. You must be really careful, Merlin. Fallen angels are cruel and evil being, it lies in their nature, they can't do anything against it. They possess great powers; sometimes they are even more powerful than most angels."

A slight chill ran down Merlin's spine as he imagined the dark-haired teen to be a powerful fallen angel. It must be terrible fate. To have ones wings torn out, be imprisoned and banished from heaven. I must be like… well, _hell. _

"What powers do fallen angels have?" Merlin asked, both curious and cautious in case he once would have to fight such a being.

Gaius looked thoughtful, his eyes narrowed a bit. "They possess the same powers they once had as angels. But in addition, they get the power to corrupt a human's heart. They bring darkness and hatred to humanity, which often ends up in wars. But the worst case is that if a human spends too much time under the influence of a fallen angel, they can become one themselves."

Merlin drew in a sharp breath. That meant everyone could become a fallen angel while this Mordred was around! Or he could bring hatred to everyone and they would start a war! That would be terrible, he couldn't let such a dangerous being roam around; his protégé could be affected! He needed to keep Mordred as far away from Arthur as possible, no matter what!

"What can be done to…stop a fallen angel?" Merlin asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

Gaius shot him a disapproving look, having him instantly seen through. "Merlin!" He scolded "I know that protecting your protégé his very important, but don't think about taking someone's life, no matter whether human or not!" The raven haired stared at the ground, his face a bright red, partly from shame, partly from anger.

The older man's look softened a bit "Fallen angels can't be killed. Not as they are, that is. They have to atone for their sins before they can rest in peace. Therefore they have to be sent into the purgatory and after they dismounted their time, they can rest in peace like every other soul."

"How can one send a fallen angel into the purgatory?"

Gaius just shook his head. "Don't even try it, that's something only archangels can accomplish."

Merlin became a little depressed as he realized there was absolutely nothing he could do. It would take him a human lifetime to fulfill his destiny with Arthur (he didn't even know what exactly his destiny was) and only then he could try and become an archangel! But someone had to do something when falling angels just walked around.

Merlin would never let Mordred near Arthur.

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"So, is this supposed to be a date?"

Gwen and Arthur were currently sitting in a little rose garden behind the girls' dormitory. The sun shone bright and it was the first really warm day this year. Earlier that day, Arthur had (being the gentleman he was) invited Gwen to go for a walk to enjoy the nice weather. So here they were, sitting on a bench surrounded by rose sprouts that were only half open.

Arthur tried very hard to suppress the blush that emerged on his face. He failed miserably.

"Um… Would you mind if I said 'yes'?" He mumbled staring into Gwen's beautiful hazel eyes. They were so deep that Arthur almost felt as if he was drowning in them.

A slight chuckle escaped from those lovely lips, driving Arthur into madness. "I wouldn't mind at all. I would be happy actually" she said with a shy smile.

Arthur slowly grabbed Gwen's soft hands and unconsciously leaned closer to her. "Alright, yes it is a date. A great one at that." He whispered and stared into her eyes. He was so close now; he could make out every single lash of hers.

Arthur leaned even closer, Gwen's warm breath tickling on his face. Then, suddenly, his insides exploded.

His lips were on Gwen's soft ones and Arthur could feel his hairs uplift as a warm sensation spread through his entire body. He watched as Gwen's beautiful eyelids fluttered shut and he closed his eyes as well.

The whole world stood still and everything Arthur felt were those warm, soft, kissable lips under his own and Gwen's small hands holding his own. He wished this wonderful kiss could last forever. But he needed to breath, so Arthur pulled away after a few more moments and smiled a dreamy smile at his beloved. Because that's what Gwen was. His beloved.

"You're so wonderful" he whispered and rested his head against her fore head, preparing for the next kiss that would probably come out a little wilder. "So are you" Gwen replied with a smile. Arthur was leaning in for another kiss when-

"Arthur. What is going on here?"

A harsh voice demanded and Arthur instantly pulled away from Gwen, bringing some distance between each other. His hands remained on hers but his eyes shot up to the figure that stood before them. It was his father, wearing a stern expression on his face.

"Father." Arthur spat, not even trying to hide his irritation. He felt Gwen's concerned eyes resting on him, but his attention was solely directed towards his father.

"Arthur, who is that girl? She does not seem appropriate." Uther eyed the girl with mild disdain.

Arthur felt Gwen tense and he shot one of his angriest glares towards his father. "This _girl _is Gwen and you don't have the right to judge her. I don't care whether you deem her appropriate or not, she's kind and good natured."

"Arthur" Uther's voice grew louder by every second that passed "Don't speak to me like that! I forbid you to see this girl any longer; you should associate with someone of your standard!"

"I have every right to associate with Gwen! She's the girl I love! Accept that! I _shit_ on your opinion!" Arthur was suddenly standing, his face red with anger and his hands balled to fists.

"How could you possibly love some _filthy, poor girl_?! Can't you see that everything she wants is your money?! Are you really that much of a fool to not see her greed and low intentions in seducing you?!" Uther was practically yelling through the whole college, his face red and scrunched up in fury.

Arthur saw the wetness in his beloved's eyes as she stormed off into the building.

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Merlin waved good bye at the older man as he left Gaius' room.

When he turned around, he found himself standing in front of a crying Gwen.

Her eyes were red and he could see her mascara all over her cheeks. What could have unsettled the strong girl he knew to end up in such a state?

"Gwen! What's wrong? What happened?" Merlin said gently and laid a hand on her shoulder. It hurt him in his chest to see her like this.

"I-I was with A-Arthur in the rose garden and then-then his f-father came and yelled- oh, Merlin! He yelled s-so loud and his face w-was all red, it was terrifying! I didn't know what to d-do and then Arthur started t-to yell as well! His father s-said really terrible things about me and I-I couldn't hold the t-tears back any longer. Please, Merlin, you must do something! They both looked like they would start beating each other!"

Merlin smiled and gently rubbed her back as the girl leaned powerless against him, trying to calm her.

"Don't worry. I'm going to help Arthur." He reassured her and looked her in the eyes so she could see that he meant it.

"I'm sure you will." Gwen said with a smile tugging on her lips as she saw the protectiveness and determination in the raven-haired's eyes.

If Merlin couldn't help Arthur out, then who else could?

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"Arthur? Ah, here you are." Merlin quickly walked up to his red faced protégé. Arthur was breathing heavily and his storm blue eyes shot death glares at his father.

"Now, who is this, Arthur? Another one of your money drawing _false friends_?!" Uther yelled with gritted teeth.

Arthur took a step towards his father his eyes narrowing even further.

"Don't you fucking dare insult Merlin too! He's a _true _friend and he cares for me much more than _you _ever could! You're just heartless and an awful father, that's the reason why Morgana turned against us!"

Merlin's chest warmed up as he heard Arthur saying he was a true friend and he would have smiled dreamily if this situation wouldn't be so tense.

Arthur was again about to move towards Uther, but Merlin quickly laid a calming hand upon his protégé's shoulder. "Stay calm. Don't say or do anything you will regret later" Merlin whispered to the blond, but Arthur just hissed and tried to shake of Merlin's hand. Though Merlin just responded with gripping Arthur's shoulder tighter.

"I must apologize for Arthur's aggressive behavior. He seems to be lacking sleep lately, since he is practicing for the upcoming tournament until late into the night" Merlin said respectfully to Uther, in the hope of calming him, what made him receive an unbelieving glance from Arthur.

"I can assure you that I have no harmful intentions in my friendship with your son and I beg you to trust in his ability to decide with whom and with whom not to associate. I am sure that he will not act foolishly and even if he makes mistakes, I am sure that Arthur is smart enough to learn from them."

Uther gave the raven haired a suspicious glance but soon sighed and turned around. "I hope you're right, young man. But Arthur" Uther looked back over his shoulder. "Don't come crawling to me when this girl breaks your heart" With that he vanished inside the building.

Arthur let out a shaking breath that he didn't know he had been holding. He closed his eyes and breathed in and out a few times until he managed to unclench his fists. Then he opened his eyes and stared at Merlin, whose hand was still resting on the blonde's. Upon realizing this, the raven haired quickly withdrew it with a sheepish grin on his lips.

"What was that just now? All the stuff you said, I mean." Arthur asked while sitting down on the bench with an exhausted sigh.

Merlin sat down next to his protégé and stared into the sky. The sun was already setting. "I don't know, I just…said what came to my mind. I just said what I thought would calm Uther. I really didn't want this argument to escalate."

Arthur gave Merlin a thoughtful look. "I guess I should say thank you then…" He mumbled and suddenly found the ground very interesting.

He heard a light chuckle from beside him and felt Merlin's big blue eyes resting on him. "Say, Arthur…Did you mean that?"

Arthur turned his head around and blue eyes met. "What?" Merlin fumbled with the zipper of his jacket, trying to avoid Arthur's questioning gaze.

"I mean what you said about me… Did you really mean that or did you just say that to piss your father off?"

Arthur suddenly felt heat rising to his face and he once again averted his eyes to the ground. "I guess I meant it… But don't let that get to your head! "He grumbled.

But Merlin just smiled a huge smile and his pseudo blue eyes started to dance with happiness. He didn't even know what made him this happy, but he just couldn't help it.

Suddenly, as if he realized something, Arthur's head shot up and he stared at Merlin, trying to ignore the joy he saw in his friend's eyes. "How did you actually find me here?"

Merlin just tilted his head. "Well, Gwen told me you were here." Arthur's eyes widened. "How was she?" He demanded with concern and urgency.

"Well, she was crying but I calmed her and she smiled again as I left for you" Merlin explained and watched as Arthur started to visibly relax into the bench.

"That's good. I'll go and see her" but before Arthur could even move, he once again felt a hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

"I meant what I said about you lacking sleep. Go to her tomorrow, look, the sun is already setting" Merlin said with a smile, but his voice was being serious.

"Why would I listen to an idiot like you?" Arthur teased with a smirk on his face.

"Only a prat wouldn't listen to someone as wise as me"

"So you mean if I listen to you I'm not a so called prat?"

"You would still be one."

"Then what's the point in listening to you?!"

"Don't know, maybe you wouldn't be so grumpy if you slept more. I mean, you're being an even bigger prat since when I met you a week ago. It seems like the prat virus is spreading through your whole body pretty quickly. Maybe we should-"

"_Mer_lin"

"Shut up?"

"Wow, I'm surprised! You actually got it!"

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"This guy was annoying. He ruined our plans." Mordred hissed as he walked next to Morgana towards their college. It was already dusk and they had to be back soon or they wouldn't get any supper. Not that they cared about something as trivial as that.

"Then we just have to make a new one." Morgana replied with an evil smirk on her face. Mordred could already see how she was working out something in her head. Oh, she may just be a human but he really had found a liking to her.

"You know, Mordred" She continued "I called Morgause yesterday. She will pay us a visit next weekend."

Mordred joined the smirking of the older girl. "That's good. She always is willing to wreak a little havoc with me. It's good to have a little amplification. Especially against an angel."

Morgana stopped in her tracks and stared down at the younger one. She knew he was a fallen angel, as well as Morgause was one, she had changed Mordred in the first place. But Morgana hadn't expected to actually meet a _real_ angel.

"Who?" She demanded in a cold voice.

"This guy that saw us in front of Arthur's room. He had the aura of a guardian angel" Mordred explained. "But don't worry, he didn't seem very strong. No normal angel could stand a chance against two fallen angels anyway"

"I hope you are right."

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**A/N:** So, I hope you liked it :) I thankfully read everything you have to tell me through a review; it's good to know what the readers think. I'll come up with the next chapter as soon as I can and I finally have holidays so the updates will come a little faster :)

The next chapter contains: Nightmares, dates and a misunderstood Merlin :D

Until next time and enjoy your summer~

**by DarkChain**


	6. Leaving Angel

**A/N:** Hello again. HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited, your support is really great :) This update was a little faster than the previous, but the chapter is also a little shorter. I hope you don't mind :D Now, read and enjoy~

**Disclaimer:** This is so unnecessary. I don't own Merlin. Isn't that obvious?

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**CHAPTER 6: LEAVING ANGEL**

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Morgana knew she was dreaming; she had a lot of nightmares these days and slowly grew accustomed to awake with a scream that had come from herself.

Nonetheless she was terrified during every single dream, fearing she would never awake.

Tonight was especially horrible.

Morgana was currently flying through pitch black clouds, they were as cold as ice and Morgana couldn't control where she was flying. In the distant, she heard she growl of thunder and a lightning enlightened the sky for a split second. She wished it hadn't.

For less than a second Morgana had seen a gigantic rock right in front of her and she knew she was going to crash into it. Her eyes being tightly shut, she awaited the pain that was sure to come. When it didn't come, she slowly peeked one eye open and instantly cursed herself for it. The rock was mere inches away from her face and Morgana couldn't suppress a scream escaping her trembling lips. But she suddenly stopped flying and it took her a moment to realize that her wings were gone.

Where they had been before, a pain greater then she had ever felt before consumed her skin. Another scream, much louder than the previous, left her mouth as Morgana grabbed the rock in front of her in pain. Her nails broke and blood was coming from her delicate fingers.

Morgana knew she was going to fall, but when it happened, it was way more horrible than she had imagined. It felt as if cold hands were ripping at her skin, tearing out her hair and pushing the air from her lungs. Morgana wanted to scream, but there was no air left to do so, so she settled for trashing her limbs through the air, trying to distract herself from the pain in her back.

Suddenly the hard ground met her back and Morgana's whole body felt like it was on fire. She looked down her body and saw blood leaking from her legs; one was bent in a disgusting angle. Morgana felt salty tears stream down her cheeks and she wished she would die already. But she knew this dream wasn't over yet so she just lay there, waiting for the terrible final.

Suddenly, she heard laughter. It was mocking and it was directed towards her. A familiar figure came walking towards her. Uther. Her father. He was laughing with a maniac smile on his face and a torch in his hand. He slowly lowered it to the ground and Morgana realized with horror that the ground she was lying on was made out of wood. "Stop…" she whispered weakly, but Uther didn't even hear it. It felt so hot, unbearingly hot. Morgana screamed at the flames consumed her body, her lungs began to fill with smoke and she could no longer breathe. It felt like someone was stabbing her chest with a dagger and Uther just stood there and continued to laugh. After a while, more people joined him. Arthur; his friends, that once had been her friends too; Gwen, she once had been like a sister to her; the guy with the raven hair and the azure blue eyes; the people from her college and at last even Morgause and Mordred. She was all alone… All alone… Alone…Alone…...Alone….….Alone….

…

…

…

With a scream, Morgana awoke. It was only a dream, only a dream. Morgana raised a trembling hand to her cheeks and brushed the streams of salty tears away.

"Morgana? What's wrong?" Mordred hesitantly entered the dark room, his eyes resting on the shaking figure that was curled up in the king sized bed.

Morgana vehemently shook her head, her pale hands gripping the sheets until her knuckles were completely white. "Nightmare" she whispered and looked at Mordred with big eyes. He had laughed at her too. Everyone had laughed at her. She was alone.

"I hate you."

The boy looked a little startled, but then a smile spread on his lips. "Why me? What have I done? You should hate Uther instead."

Once again, Morgana shook her head, her long dark hair getting ruffled. "I hate everyone. That's your fault."

Mordred slowly walked towards the bed and at down next to the trembling girl. "I know" he whispered into her ear as he pulled Morgana into a tight hug. "Hatred is a good emotion. It makes you strong; you should stir it until there's nothing else left. You understand, Morgana?"

"But it's burning." Morgana released herself from Mordreds cold embrace and pointed at her chest. "It hurts inside."

The smile on Mordred's face widened and his cold eyes lit up with excitement. "That's splendid! Everything is going according to plan."

Morgana was silent for a while and her eyes seemed to clear as if she finally understood what was going on. Suddenly, a little smirk appeared on her face.

"I'm changing, right? You're turning me into a fallen angel, into a heartless monster. But I don't mind, Mordred, I really don't." Morgana set up in the large bed, finally having regained her composure. She stroked one of Mordred's soft cheeks with her long pale fingers and leaned closer to him.

"When I'm a fallen angel, I'll be able to kill Uther, Arthur and everyone who has laughed at me. Including you." She whispered into his ear. Morgana felt the younger one tense in confusion as she placed her cold lips onto his. She had imagined kissing a fallen angel would be more exciting, but her heart didn't beat faster and her cheeks didn't flush. It was pointless.

"I really hate you, Mordred."

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"You are aware that I invited you to a date, right?"

Gwen looked at the blonde next to her with confusion. "I am. So?"

Arthur clenched his teeth. "Then tell me… Why is _Mer_lin here?!"

A few feet behind them, Merlin stood in front of a shop, his hands pressed against the display window.

"Come on, Arthur. He's new here and someone has to show him the town. Besides, the more the merrier."

Arthur stopped walking and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "But that doesn't count on dates!"

"Don't be such a clot pole. I'll treat you to ice cream, alright?" Merlin walked up to them and slung one of his arms around his protégé. He actually was just here to keep an eye on Arthur, Merlin still remembered what had happened the last time Arthur had gone downtown without him. It was quite convenient that Gwen liked his company, so now here he was, accompanying Arthur and Gwen on their date. Seriously, he felt a little out of place here, but he wasn't going to leave Arthur alone again, whether he liked it or not.

Merlin quickly dragged his friend over to the next ice cream parlor. "But I don't want any!" Arthur complained as Merlin and Gwen sat down. With an annoyed sigh, he joined them and hid his irritation behind the menu card. He really considered Merlin nice company, but this was supposed to be a date! He had planned to make this all romantic to make up for the incident in the rose garden. But _no, _this sickly cheerful idiot had to come along and ruin everything! And all that happened without consideration of what Arthur wanted! He knew he was a little selfish now, but he didn't care. Arthur couldn't enjoy this now, his mood was down.

"What would you like?" the red haired waitress asked without looking up from her phone.

"One iced coffee, please" came the answer from Merlin, who smiled one of his cheery smiles. It irritated Arthur even further that this guy always was so happy and easy going.

"And one Strawberry Sunday. What about you, Arthur?"

Arthur looked up from the menu. "Like I said, I don't want anything" he said grumpily and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Merlin just grinned at his protégé, not taking is bad mood seriously. "Then why were you reading the menu?" he teased. Gwen looked back and forth between the blonde and the raven-haired with a little worry. What would happen when the moody Arthur and the cheerful Merlin started to argue?

"Am I not allowed to inform myself about the prices here?!" Arthur snapped and didn't even try to conceal his anger.

"Easy easy, Arthur. No need to be such a prat…" Merlin mumbled defensively, his eyebrow quirked in question. Just what was wrong with him? Did…did Merlin's presence bother the blonde really that much? Nah, he was probably still just lacking sleep; Merlin tried to reassure himself.

"I'm not a prat! It's just…this whole situation drives me mad!" Arthur exclaimed and glared at the raven haired. Merlin's eyebrow just raised higher, challenging Gaius.

"Now get a hold of yourself, you're ruining this date!" Gwen scolded him, a disapproving look on her face.

"B-but…! This isn't even a date anymore!" Arthur complained and felt his face heat up. He didn't want to appear so aggressive in front of Gwen, but he was just pissed now. Partly caused by the lack of sleep but mostly because he wanted to be alone with Gwen, he wanted privacy and he wanted to just leave this stupid parlor.

"I-I could leave you two alone if I'm unwelcome" Merlin suggested halfheartedly. His pseudo blue eyes gazed at his protégé apologetically. "I'm really sorry that I ruined your date"

Before Arthur could response anything, Gwen had stood up, her hands resting on her hips. "You don't have to apologize to Arthur, Merlin! I invited you to come, so you're not unwelcome, alright?"

The angel just nodded a small smile on his lips. Gwen always was so kind to him, he really liked her. Not in that way though. Arthur would probably kill him if he did.

"But Gwen! That's a date between you and me! Maybe you like spending time with Merlin more than spending time with me?" Now Arthur was standing too, looking a lot like an overgrown pouting child.

"Ugh, you're just so painfully arrogant, Arthur Pendragon. Maybe I really consider Merlin better company!" Gwen growled and stormed off into the direction of the college.

Arthur watched in surprise as she left, feeling just awfully misunderstood.

"I wonder what has upset her…." Merlin mumbled thoughtfully. Suddenly, something hard hit the back of his head. "Ouch! What was that for?!" Merlin asked as he rubbed his painfully throbbing head. In front of him stood a red faced Arthur, nostrils wide and teeth gritted. "That's entirely your fault!"

Merlin just looked up at his protégé with big eyes. How could Arthur say this was _his_ fault? He was only here to keep an eye on him and in addition Gwen had invited him to come! Why was Arthur in such a bad mood lately? Merlin should try to calm him somehow.

"I'm sorry Arthur but I really had no intention of disturbing your peace with Gwen. I just thought-"

"No, that's the problem! You didn't think! At least not about Gwen and me!" Merlin suddenly felt a pang of pain in his chest. That wasn't true at all! He was only here for Arthur's sake! This stupid prat didn't know anything at all! This was so unfair! Why did Merlin have to get such a prat as a protégé?! But when he looked at Arthur, he just couldn't bring himself to be really angry. Of course, he was annoyed with the arrogant dollop-head, but he was just a human. Humans tended to act rashly. Humans tended to be selfish. Humans tended to misunderstand each other.

Angels were supposed to be better, but they weren't. Not really at least. Merlin was way too curious and impatient for an angel. So he wasn't angry at Arthur; he just wanted Arthur to also not be angry at him.

"I'm really sorry Arthur. I made a mistake in coming along" It hurt to say that, since Merlin knew it had been more of a mistake to _not_ tag along. "Just, please calm down, Arthur, okay?" Merlin smiled a soft smile at his protégé, trying to be calming.

"Whatever" Arthur didn't look Merlin into the eyes, instead searching his pockets for some money. "I'll pay. Just go now."

Merlin hesitated. He wanted to storm of and enjoy the rest of the evening without having to care about the moody prat, he really did, but he knew he shouldn't. What if something happened? He just couldn't leave his protégé all alone…

"Now, will you leave or do I have to kick your ass to get yourself moving?!"

Alright, that was enough.

"Fine. I'll leave, but I actually didn't want to! I would have stayed to keep you company, but it seems you're just fine on your own!"

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"Oi, Merlin mate! Over here!"

As the raven haired turned around, he the whole fencing team of the CPC sitting at a table in this pub; except for Arthur of course.

A grin appeared on the angels face as he made his way over to them, the previous argument with his protégé already forgotten.

"Hello Gwaine, Leon, Lance, Elyan, Percy." He greeted and sat down on the only empty seat. "Hi Merlin" They said in union, which made a shiver run down his spine. (That had been really creepy…Were they practicing this to him of?)

Merlin suddenly felt an arm around his shoulder and his eyes met a grinning Gwaine. "Nice to see you, mate, but I thought you were out with Princess and Gwen?"

With an annoyed sigh, Merlin started to explain what had happened just minutes before.

...

...

...

"I just wonder why Arthur was in such a bad mood…" he finished and looked down into his glass of water which Lance had given him so his mouth wouldn't dry out during the explanation. Angels weren't allowed to drink alcohol anyway.

"You're too nice, Merlin." Elyan said after emptying his glass of ale. "Arthur is being a- what did you call it? Prat? Well, Arthur is being a prat and all you do is worrying why he's in a bad mood" He pointed out with a small smile on his lips.

"Yeah, you can't always behave like an angel, the world's going to chew you up" Gwaine agreed and patted the raven haired on the shoulder. So they thought he behaved like an angel, huh? He could burst out into laughter at this. If only they knew…But they couldn't. Nobody could. It was strictly forbidden.

"Well, anyway, it's really a coincidence that you came into this pub. You didn't know we were here, did you?" Leon mused and freed Merlin from his thoughts.

This earned a rough chuckle from Gwaine, who seemed to already have had a few glasses. "This guy here just knows what a good pub looks like! You should come here more often, mate!"

"Hey, I just noticed you didn't drink anything yet." Lance voiced his thoughts. "Whaaaaaat?! Merlin, what's wrong with you?! Here, drink!" Gwaine held his full glass into Merlin's face, expecting him to drink.

"Umm… Sorry, but I don't drink…" The raven haired mumbled and shoved the glass away. "But!" Gwaine complained, a pout appearing on his slightly reddish face.

"Don't talk Merlin into something he doesn't want to do" Percy suddenly scolded, taking the glass away from Gwaine before he could spill the content.

"I didn't notice you were here too, as silent as you are, Percy" Elyan teased his friend with a grin. Merlin smiled at the huge fellow next to him. Percival really was kind, even though you couldn't really see it, since he really isn't talking much. A huge difference to the babbling Gwaine.

"Well, I guess not everyone can be-"He suddenly stopped midsentence. There it was again, that funny feeling. Something was definitely wrong. Was it about Arthur? That was likely. But how was he supposed to find his protégé? This pub was too loud to concentrate and he felt the stares of the others on himself. Why were they staring at him like that? Oh yeah, he just had been about to say something.

"Excuse me; I have to go to the bathroom…" Merlin mumbled and hurried away from the noises and into the calming silence.

The raven haired closed his eyes and concentrated. He could feel something… Something pulsating… A heartbeat? Yeah, definitely…Arthur's heartbeat! Merlin could feel it increasing. Nervousness? Fear? Excitement? All of them were possible, but the feeling in his stomach told Merlin that it wasn't the latter.

Images of a hurt and bloodied Arthur invaded Merlin's mind and he opened his eyes again. He had to go. Now

Without another word, Merlin left the pub; he hoped the others wouldn't mind. He always could explain later. No, he couldn't…He would have to make something up; he would have to lie again…

With a sigh, Merlin hurried into the direction where Arthur's heartbeat was coming from.

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"Woah, have you seen that chick?"

Every gaze in the street was instantly directed towards the young woman with long blond hair, wearing a blue dress with matching high heels.

She walked through the street with confidence and a smirk on her red lips, a bunch of guys clad in black suits followed her.

"Where are we heading, Mistress Morgause?" A dark haired man with a beard asked while walking up to Morgause. She just answered with a chuckle and pointed at a bank at the end of the street. "We are going to have a little fun and make some profit, Cenred."

The man, Cenred, just rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone. "Which preperations?"

Another chuckle was heard. "This time, we don't need any."

Cenred stopped in his tracks and looked dumbfounded for a second before he walked up to the woman once more. "But what about the security system? Why don't even carry masks and gloves with us!" He pointed out and looked at Morgause as if she was insane.

"We're already wanted criminals, so don't worry about them finding out our identities. As for the security system…I plan on using my powers a little more."

Cenred just sighed and started typing away on his phone. "Honestly…you really are reckless, Mistress. But I thought we were here to visit your sister, the Mistress Morgana?"

Morgause turned around and looked at the man with a mischievous glint in her eyes but her expression remained neutral.

"We cannot visit her without a present, right?" She winked and stopped in front of the bank. "Take out your guns."

The men followed her order and prepared themselves. Morgause entered the bank with a swift motion and shot one bullet into the ceiling, a soft smile on her lips.

"Onto the ground, humans. This is an armed raid, so please cooperate, okay?"

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**A/N: **Uh-oh Morgause is going to rob a bank :D I hope you liked this chapter ;) Like always, reviews are greatly appreciated, they make me write faster and are good for my ego :D The next chapter contains: A raid xD and moody!Arthur turns into suspicious!Arthur ;)

Until next time and enjoy your summer~

**by DarkChain**


	7. Preventing Angel

**A/N:** I'm back with the next chapter :D I probably don't have to say it but I'll say it nonetheless: The HUGEST of thanks to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorite :) Special thanks to those who reviewed to more than once, you're all great supporters ;)

Now, on with the chapter; read and enjoy :D

**Disclaimer:** Nope. Nothing changed. Still don't own Merlin.

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**CHAPTER 7: PREVENTING ANGEL**

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He would never in his whole life admit it, but Arthur felt slightly guilty. Maybe he had been a little unfair? Gwen was just too kind hearted, so it wasn't her fault for inviting Merlin. That's actually why he loved her in the first place, because of her big heart and endless kindness.

With a sigh, Arthur kicked off a stone that lay on the street in front of him. It rolled down into a garden through a flowerbed and crushed some small white flowers before stopping at the trunk of a cherry tree.

Arthur decided that he would go find Gwen and apologize to her. Maybe he should also buy her a present? Flowers or something like that.

After a few minutes of walking through the streets, Arthur spotted a little flower shop on the other side of the street. To make sure that he had enough money with him, Arthur brought out his black wallet and peered inside.

He was greeted by almost total emptiness; just some small change was lingering in the corners of his wallet. So he had to visit a bank before he could come back here. Great.

With yet another sigh, Arthur made his way over to the next bank, just two streets away. As he entered the bank, he noticed that it was relatively crowded, in front of every ATM stood some people, all waiting to get their money. Maybe there was an unexpected sale somewhere?

Arthur patiently lined up pulled out his bank card. After a few minutes of waiting, it was finally his turn. He took a few notes out off the ATM when he suddenly heard a gunshot.

The blonde instantly spun around, all thoughts of horror in his mind. He kind of expected to see a bloodied corps lying behind him, but there only were some people who trembled with fear or had their eyes wide open with confusion.

In the entrance of the bank stood a beautiful woman with long blond hair wearing a tight blue dress. She held an old-fashioned black gun towards the ceiling were now a little hole was present.

"Onto the ground, humans. This is an armed raid, so please cooperate, okay?" The woman purred with a soft smile on her red lips.

An armed raid? This was bad.

Arthur watched with tense caution as the men started to go around and collect money from the people and the employees of the bank. He realized with horror that the woman was coming towards him, her gun directed at his heart. Arthur's heartbeat quickened and some little sweat drops appeared on his forehead.

"You remind me of someone" The woman said and smirked at Arthur. The smirk seemed familiar to him… Then it hit him. The smirk looked like Morgana's! Then this woman had to be- "Morgause" Arthur breathed and narrowed his eyes. It didn't surprise him that his half-sister's half-sister was a criminal; that suited their characteristics.

"I'll take it that you must be Arthur" Morgause said darkly, the smile had vanished from her face. "You're an enemy of Morgana. And all enemies of my sister are also enemies of mine."

What was that crazy woman talking about? It's not like they were in a war or something like that…

"What do you want?" he hissed and glared at the blonde woman. Suddenly, a fist met his chest and Arthur stumbled backwards until he landed on his backside on the ground. How could this woman be so strong? She just looked like any other woman but her fist had felt like a horse kick.

"What I want?" She snarled and released the safety catch on her gun. "I want to help my little sister with getting rid of you. I think she still lacks the guts to use…drastic measures." Arthur froze in shock. This wasn't happening, this couldn't be true! He was going to die, wasn't anyone going to help him. He looked helplessly at the other people in the back from where he was sitting on the ground, but they all seemed occupied with obeying the criminals. Arthur's gaze flickered back to the Morgause

She smiled and laid her finger on the trigger.

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Not being able to fly was such a nuisance, especially when one's protégé was in danger. Merlin would be ten times faster if he could just spread his wings and rush through the sky. But no, there had to be people _everywhere_.

Merlin prided himself with being a fast runner but that didn't mean it wasn't exhausting. He felt a few sweat drops forming on his forehead and his breaths became shorter and shorter with every step he took.

Arthur's heartbeat echoed in his head and became louder with every passing second, which meant he was drawing closer to his destination.

Merlin's steps faltered until he stood completely still. There was a strange presence…A dark presence…

Then realization hit him. It was a fallen angel! But who could it be? Of course there was a chance that Mordred was coincidentally passing by, but that wasn't very likely. That meant…there had to be two of them.

With new concern for Arthur's wellbeing, the young angel started to run once more until he found himself standing in front of the back entrance of a bank… The door was wide opened and allowed Merlin to peer inside. As he did so, he noticed a few men entering the vault, armored with guns. The raven haired just stared at them for a second, but then he decided that just standing there wouldn't change a thing.

While focusing on suppressing his wings from bursting out of his back, Merlin slowly walked up to them, ready to use his powers.

"Hey, you there. What are you doing?" he demanded and tried to look intimidating.

They all span around simultaneously and directed their gun's at his chest. "Onto the ground and keep silent!" A man with beard barked glaring daggers at the raven haired.

"But I don't want to" Merlin teased and raised his hands whereupon all their weapons kept flying towards him and landed on the ground. Merlin awaited the men to be shocked and confused, but all they did was clenching their teeth. Weren't they at least _a bit_ surprised?

"So you're one of _these_." The man with the beard growled and took a few steps away from Merlin.

One of these? What did he mean with that? Merlin remembered the dark presence from before. So these men must know that a fallen angel was here. Did they think Merlin was one as well? What an insult, he was just an innocent angel. More or less.

Annoyed with the men, Merlin raised his right hand high above his head and let it rush down towards the ground. The men suddenly stumbled backwards and landed unconsciously on the ground.

Merlin had to lean at the wall for support; this attack had been really exhausting. He usually didn't use that great amounts of powers at once, but this situation was serious and the time was passing. He needed to hurry and find Arthur.

When Merlin entered the bank, he noticed many things at once.

First, his back started to itch _like hell._ His wings wanted so bitterly to burst through his back, but Merlin managed to suppress them.

Second, there were many armed men that were threatening the poor civilians to get their dirty hands on their money.

Third, there was a stunningly beautiful woman standing in the middle of the room and she had the darkest aura he had ever sensed. No doubt that she was a fallen angel.

And fourth, his protégé was sitting on the ground with a gun being pointed at his chest by said fallen angel.

Merlin did everything he could to remain composed; he couldn't risk that his wings would come out no, so he had to keep his temper. (It wasn't easy, considering that a fallen angel pointed a gun at his protégé!) He watched in horror as the blond woman started to pull the trigger.

In less than a second, Merlin was standing next to her, slapping the gun out of her delicate hands. It landed on the ground with a clattering sound and Merlin instantly kicked it away to the other side of the room. The raven haired stood himself in front of Arthur protectively, facing the woman, who looked slightly startled at her empty hands. Her cold eyes met his own pseudo blues and time seemed to stop.

"_It's nice to meet you, little angel boy." _Her voice radiated inside his head, it was a really strange feeling.

"_A telepathic conversation?" _He replied by just thinking it in his head

"_Oh, you're quick to understand. I assume you're the guardian angel of blondy here?"_

"_And I assume you're a fallen angel."_

"_That's right. My name is Morgause."_

"_Morgause….You're Morgana's sister!" _Merlin remembered Gwen mentioning her.

"_It seems you're well informed. Now, would you mind telling me your name?"_

"_I don't see why I should do this."_

"_Oh, I'm sure this won't be the last time we meet. I'd like to greet you properly when we meet again."_

"…_Call me Merlin if you have to."_

"_What a cute name. I think we should-"_

Morgause was interrupted midsentence by one of her men. "I'm getting impatient, Mistress Morgause. You lost your gun, so I'll finish this for you." Morgause turned around to the man and glared at him dangerously. "Stop, you idiot! If you shoot blondy now, there's nothing that will hold him back" She screamed and pointed at Merlin.

But it was too late. The man had already pulled the trigger.

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Everything seemed to slow down.

Arthur watched as the man raised his gun and pulled the trigger in slow motion. It was directed at his head and Arthur knew he was probably going to die.

He was just able to blink, everything around him moved unbelievingly slow. It seemed like Morgause was shouting something at the man that had shot and Arthur watched in horror how the bullet slowly flew towards his face. He had never really believed in god, but no he found himself praying. He literally begged to live on. He wasn't ready to die yet! He didn't want to die when he had been fighting with everyone! With his father, Gwen and even Merlin.

Stupid and brave Merlin, who had somehow managed to disarm Morgause. Who was now standing in front of him, somewhat protectively. He had helped him before, when he had been alone in that dark alley, or when he had been arguing with his father. Merlin was always there when Arthur needed him; it was almost creepy, as if the raven haired was some kind of stalker. Arthur was just glad that Merlin probably was going to get out of this alive.

When the bullet was just inches away from his face, Arthur found himself pleading once more. _Please god, I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. Please, god, help me. Help me somehow!_

Just as Arthur was thinking the last sentence, Merlin suddenly spun around with incredible speed, everything seemed to have slowed down, but not the raven haired. His big blue eyes seemed to stare at the blonde, but they actually were directed at the bullet.

Arthur wasn't sure he saw it right, but Merlin's lips seemed to move. Not in a shouting way, more like a soft whisper. The raven haired's eyes seemed to narrow as he continued to seemingly whisper to the bullet. Arthur awaited the bullet to pierce through his head, killing him in less than a second, but as he glanced at the still in slow motion moving piece of metal, it seemed to suddenly change directions.

Arthur must have gone insane! Or he was in some kind of shock, so that his brain was unable to proceed what was going on around him.

But he was totally sure that he saw how the bullet turned around in midair just inches apart from his head and flew slowly off into the direction of the ATMs.

Suddenly everything around him spun back into place and loud voices and the far way sound of police sirens emerged in his ears like an explosion. Everything seemed to speed up and Arthur just let out a shaky breath that he didn't know he had been holding.

He looked over to the ATMs and saw that the bullet had hit one of the monitors. After that he looked towards the door, where he could see Morgause and her men leave in a hurry, as the police sirens grew louder and louder.

Still in shock, Arthur tried to pull himself of from the ground, but he was trembling to the point that he couldn't push himself up, so he just kept sitting on the cold floor while looking up and down his body. He was alive. He really was alive. That was just impossible. What had happened here?

All kind of thoughts swirled through his head and Arthur jumped a little when he suddenly felt hands on his shoulders.

"Arthur? Are you alright? Maybe we should get you into a hospital…It seems like we also have to talk with the police… Arthur? Can you hear me?"

He just stared into Merlin's face, noticing concern and obvious stress on the younger one's face. His hands felt warm and comforting on Arthur's shoulders and the blonde wanted nothing more than to curl himself up in his bed and sort all of his confusing thoughts out.

"Back to college…Please…" He mumbled monotone and shoved Merlin's hands away with his own trembling ones. He could see a soft and understanding smile on his friends face as Merlin helped him to stand up. Just staring blankly into space Arthur had no intentions on moving on his own.

He must have witnessed some kind of wonder. Maybe god existed and he had saved his life? Arthur mused and stared at the ground.

Suddenly, long pale fingers wrapped around his hand and pulled Arthur softly into the direction of the door. "Come on, Arthur. Let's get you back home."

As he stared at the warm hand that was holding his own, he knew that it wasn't god who had helped him. His gaze wandered up to the big azure eyes that blinked at him with innocence and warmth.

It had been Merlin's doing.

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Merlin quickly turned on the lights in Arthur's room and guided the blonde inside, ignoring that they actually were holding hands. It didn't bother Merlin and his protégé was obviously still in some kind of shock. He knew he shouldn't leave Arthur alone when he was in this state, but Merlin wanted nothing more than to escape this situation. He was way too tired to deal with Arthur now and his whole head was full of troubling thoughts.

Two fallen angels in one town? That couldn't possibly be a coincidence. No, something bigger was going on here and Merlin was worrying to no end. But pondering about that now wouldn't accomplish anything.

With a sigh, Merlin sat Arthur down on the bed, gently removing his hand. The angel let his concerned gaze flicker over his protégé. His blue eyes were staring blankly into space and a deep frown was present on his features. Arthur seemed deep in thought and not able to comprehend what was going on around him.

Slowly, Merlin laid one of his hands on Arthur's shoulder and looked the blond into the eyes. "Arthur? If you're alright now, you should go to sleep." He suggested while trying to somehow get his attention.

After a moment of silence, Arthur just nodded. Not completely satisfied with the answer, Merlin once more patted his protégé's shoulder and turned around with a "Good night, sleep well" ready to leave for his own cozy bed.

"Wait" Suddenly a hand grabbed Merlin's wrist and pulled him back, so that he found himself sitting on the edge of the bed.

He turned his head around to Arthur, a questioning look in his eyes. Arthur seemed to be back in the present, his eyes completely focused on Merlin's.

"What have you done?" He demanded, keeping his strong iron grip on Merlin's delicate wrist.

"Huh?" Merlin gave as an unintelligent answer. What was Arthur referring to? He had done so many things in his life; couldn't he be a little more precise? Besides, the grip on his wrist started to hurt a little…

"What have you done back there in the bank?" Arthur clarified, staring at Merlin who seemed to grow a little uneasy and shifted nervously.

"But you were there, you saw everything I did." Merlin tried to block off and averted his eyes to the ground. Why did Arthur have to be so curious? Couldn't he just let the matter drop? And how did he know it was Merlin's doing the first place?

Arthur just snorted and tightened his grip around Merlin's wrist, getting impatient with the raven haired. "Come on, Merlin! I know you're hiding something."

"Why should I hide something from you?" Merlin mumbled, trying to free himself from Arthur's hold with no avail. "Arthur, it hurts a little, could you please let go…?"

"Sorry", the blonde said while removing his hand from the younger one's wrist. "But you know, Merlin, friends share their secrets."

Merlin felt a pang of guilt in his chest. Arthur was right, friends shared their secrets. But there was just no way he could tell Arthur about himself, it was strictly forbidden. Besides, Arthur probably wouldn't believe him and laugh at him. Merlin just remained silent while he rubbed his wrist.

"You don't have to tell me, Merlin. It's just that it would be nice if I could trust you completely."

Why must he say that? He didn't know a thing! Why must he make Merlin feel so bad? It wasn't Merlin's fault that he couldn't speak about this! This whole situation was just unfair! Why couldn't Arthur just be silent?! His words had hurt even if he probably didn't mean to. Merlin slowly looked up to his protégé, already feeling the tears prickle in his eyes. No, he wouldn't start crying in front of Arthur just because of that!

"You can trust me!" He exclaimed with a slightly shaking voice. "I'm sorry, b-but I can't tell you, you m-must understand that!"

Arthur was taken aback as he saw the wetness in his friend's eyes. He hadn't wanted to make Merlin cry! Maybe he had been a little too harsh. Merlin was a real friend and Arthur was sure he could trust him, may he be keeping secrets or not. He was sure that everyone had a secret, maybe even Gwen. Just what had come into him to act so stupid?! Hadn't he seen that Merlin didn't want to talk about it? But no, he just had to always make things worse.

"I'm sorry, Merlin. I know that I can trust you; I didn't want to push you into telling something you didn't want to…It's just…That I hate not knowing what is going on around me…Can you forgive me?" Arthur mumbled with the tiniest of a blush on his face.

Merlin felt his sorrows wash away as he heard those words leave Arthur's mouth. "Of course I can. That's what friends do, right?" He said with his usual bright grin on his face.

Arthur just chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "By the way, I'm also sorry for yelling at you earlier. I was just pissed because I couldn't have a real date with Gwen."

Now it was Merlin's turn to chuckle, it was a warm sound that made Arthur smile. "I already forgot about that with all that has happened today"

"Yeah, I almost got killed…" Arthur whispered, suddenly feeling very cold. That had been a terrible experience and he really thanked god that he was still sitting here with Merlin. "Could you imagine? Me just being…dead?" Arthur suddenly realized what it would have meant if that bullet had hit him.

A cold shiver ran down his spine and Arthur gripped the sheets they were sitting on until his knuckles turned white. "I wouldn't have been able to see anyone again…I would have just been gone, leaving everyone behind… Leaving while being in a fight with my father, Gwen and you… It would b-be lonely without me, r-right..?" Towards the end of the sentence, Arthur's voice broke a little and he coughed to hide it. Not wanting to meet Merlin's eyes, Arthur just stared out of the window. It was dark outside and the full moon was hidden behind a large cloud.

Suddenly, Arthur felt himself being pulled into a hug and he stiffened almost immediately. With big eyes, he looked at the raven haired who had slung his slender arms around the blonde's torso. His head was resting on Arthur's shoulder. "Terribly lonely" Came Merlin's slightly muffled voice.

With a small smile on his lips, Arthur slowly raised his arms and pulled them around the younger one. He couldn't remember the last time someone had embraced him like that. He felt so warm and secure…

After a few more seconds, Merlin pulled away and looked at Arthur with a grin on his face. Arthur felt a blush appearing on his face again and he quickly shuffled to the other edge of the bed as far away from the raven haired as he could.

"You know, I couldn't stand the thought of you dying." Merlin said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "What, you speechless?" He teased after not receiving an answer from the blonde.

"No, I just…err…umm…oh, shut up, _Mer_lin."

That earned a soft chuckle from Merlin as he stood up and made his way over to the door of Arthur's room.

"Good night. Sleep well, you prat."

"Sleep well, you idiot. And thank you…"

"Huh? You're welcome…"

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**A/N: **I hope you liked it :) It was great fun to write the last part ;) Like always, reviews are greatly appreciated :D

The next chapter contains: Freya's first appearance and some splishy-splashy water fun ;)

Until next time and enjoy your summer~

**by DarkChain**


	8. Fearing Angel

**A/N:** Next chapter! The hugest thanks on earth for everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited :) I hope you will like this chapter; it's kind of sweet I think…

I'm going on a trip to London on Monday, so there won't be any updates for the next two weeks, I hope you understand.

Read and enjoy! ;)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Merlin. Surprise, surprise.

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**CHAPTER 8: FEARING ANGEL**

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"So, I decided that, since we trained the whole day, we should spend the evening at the lake." Arthur announced while he left the gym, followed by the whole fencing team including Merlin.

"Nice idea. Today's the first really hot day this summer, I think we should go." Gwaine commented with a wink. Everyone knew he just hoped to find girls in bikinis. Nevertheless, everybody nodded in agreement. Well, everybody except Merlin.

"I don't think I have time…" The raven haired mumbled, hoping he would get away with that. But he was never that lucky.

"Come on, _Mer_lin, don't be such a girl. You never have anything important to do! I promise it will be fun." Arthur said with a grin while slapping his friend on the shoulder.

"You may be right, but I still don't-"Merlin was interrupted midsentence while rubbing his aching shoulder.

"It's settled then!" Arthur said with a smile, totally oblivious to the raven haired's growing unease.

Merlin gulped. He had a problem now. A real problem. Being an angel, Merlin had never learned how to swim. There were no lakes, rivers or oceans in the heaven after all, so why should he have bothered with learning how to swim? There just had been no need to! And now everyone expected him to go to a lake and that meant they expected him to go swimming!

Maybe he could go there but just not enter the water. It's not that he feared the water, but he didn't trust it either. It was just unnatural for angels to go swimming, they just didn't do it. But wouldn't it be suspicious if he stayed outside of the lake? They would surely notice…

And if Merlin told them that he couldn't swim, they would get even more suspicious and maybe they would also laugh at him…

So what should he do now?

Merlin watched in silence as everyone parted ways with the promise that they would meet again here in an hour, ready to go to the lake. The young angel decided that he just wouldn't come with the excuse that he didn't feel well. Surely Gaius would understand his situation and support his lie.

With an expression of grim determination he headed directly to the older man's room, but didn't make it far as he suddenly saw Arthur rounding the corner.

"Ah, Merlin! Hurry up and get your stuff, I can't wait to go to the lake!" The blonde exclaimed with a grin on his face.

Why did Arthur have to be so cheerful today? Couldn't he just leave him alone? Now he had to make up an excuse, Merlin knew he wouldn't get to Gaius' room anytime soon.

"Well, Arthur, there's a problem…" Merlin started while shifting nervously.

"Just tell me, maybe I can help" Arthur offered with a skeptic look towards the raven haired.

"Emm… I can't… Í don't have any swimming trunks at the moment!" That wasn't a lie actually; Merlin really didn't have any because he couldn't swim after all.

"Oh, I see…You can have a pair of mine; they shouldn't be too big." Arthur said as he pulled Merlin into direction of his room.

Now that wasn't exactly going according to plan; why did Arthur have to ruin everything?! Merlin inwardly sighed and silently admitted defeat as he was dragged through the hallways. He would have to tell them… But not yet, maybe he could still get away with just not going into the water? Merlin honestly didn't believe in saving himself from humiliation, but he wouldn't give up!

When they entered Arthur's room, Merlin once again was surprised by how messy it was. Just how did everything in this room find its way to the floor?

Merlin's question was answered as Arthur started rummaging through his wardrobe and various clothes landed all over the room.

"You're just too skinny…"Arthur mumbled while he glanced over at the raven haired that stood awkwardly in the midst of the up piling clothing.

With a sigh, he pulled a pair of swimming trunks out from the very bottom of his wardrobe. "Those are the smallest I have, I hope they fit" Arthur said and tossed them over to Merlin, who failed to catch them and had to pick them up from the ground again.

"Uhh…Thanks…" Merlin grumbled as he warily eyed the blue fabric in his hands.

"Now come on, the lake is waiting!" Arthur said with a chuckle and continued to drag Merlin around, totally oblivious to the expression of distress on the younger one's face.

This was going to have a bad end; Merlin knew for sure.

Nothing good ever came from an overly cheerful Arthur.

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There it was. His archenemy, the most feared thing in his life. (No, he wasn't exaggerating.) Cold and dark and endless, Merlin felt as if he could be drowning by just looking at it.

Water.

Merlin watched with narrowed eyes how the people in the lake were splashing water at each other; they seemed to really enjoy themselves. They must really have a death wish if they went that far into the deep water, weren't they afraid?

The sun was shining heavily down on Merlin and he feared that if he didn't go into the shadows soon his pale skin would get a sunburn. He quickly found a tree and made himself comfortable under it. He would just stay here and not go into the water, then everything should be fine.

Merlin lay down and closed his eyes for a moment, just enjoying the peace and silence. He could stay like this forever, and he would have surely fallen asleep if it wouldn't be for Arthur.

"Come on, Merlin! Get changed!" He barked and Merlin slowly opened his eyes again. Everyone was already wearing swimming trunks and Elyan and Percy were already having a race in the water.

"What are you waiting for?" The blonde asked and walked over to the younger one. "Don't worry, the water isn't that cold"

Merlin sighed and closed his eyes again. "I won't go into the water."

"What? Why not?" Arthur demanded and looked down at the raven haired with narrowed eyes. "I already lent you a pair of swimming trunks!"

"I just don't want to" Merlin mumbled lazily and waved with his hand dismissively.

"No seriously, why not?" Arthur pestered, not being satisfied with Merlin's previous answer.

"Listen. I don't want to go into the water. Got it?" The raven haired said as if he was speaking with a child.

"Well, if you don't go on your own, I guess I have to push you a little, eh?"

Merlin's eyes instantly snapped open and he watched the approaching blonde with wariness. "Arthur, what are you- ahh!"

The young angel suddenly found himself being lifted up bridal style by his smirking protégé. "Let me down! Arthur!" He screamed and dreaded what this evil prat would do now.

But Merlin was ignored and Arthur carried him over to the edge of the lake. "Arthur! Let me down! Please, let me down!" Merlin was growing panicked with every step the blonde took. He wanted to free himself, but his body was paralyzed with fear as he saw the dark water nearing him.

"Please, Arthur! I don't- I can't- Please, let me down now! Please, Arthur, stop it, just stop it!" He literally begged but Arthur's smirk grew even wider. How could he be so heartless? Was he really intending to kill Merlin?!

"Arthur, I don't think you should-" Merlin heard someone, probably Leon, say but that someone was cut off by Arthur's chuckle.

"Too late."

Merlin suddenly found himself flying through the air, an unfortunately very unmanly scream escaped his lips as his eyes widened and he tried very hard to suppress his wings from breaking free and saving him from falling.

Suddenly, his back met with something cold and wet.

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He would die.

Merlin seriously believed that as his body hit the surface and sank into the water. Panic tightened his chest and he wanted to scream, but all that came out was the last bit of air he had had in his lungs in the form of bubbles swirling all around him and making it even harder to see anything. His eyes burned as they were still wide open in shock and Merlin started to shiver, partly from the cold of the water, partly from the fear of drowning.

But then he regained his senses and managed to maneuver himself into a standing position, his bare feet sinking into the warm sand. Merlin pulled his head up and finally broke through the surface of the hated water. He took a deep breath of the lovely air and let it rush into his empty lungs. Maybe he hadn't been under water for too long, but the panic had let him feel like he was drowning and Merlin swore to himself that he would kill Arthur once he was out of this wet evil.

Merlin quickly made his way out of the water, his whole body shivering and his clothes sticking to his skin. A few drops fell from his hair into his face, but Merlin didn't bother to brush them away, it would be useless as wet as he was.

As he spotted the blonde sitting in the grass with an amused grin on his face, Merlin started to glare daggers as he walked over to his protégé. He watched with grim satisfaction how the grin slowly vanished and instead was replaced by an unsure look in Arthur's stormy blue eyes.

"You stupid, ignorant, selfish prat!" Merlin wasn't shouting; it was more like a low, threatening voice but the words echoed loudly in Arthur's ears. Maybe he had once again gone too far? Merlin seemed really pissed…If Arthur hadn't known that the boy was a clumsy idiot, he might have watched the murderous look in Merlin's azure blue eyes with fear.

"Just so you know, I can't swim and you just threw me into the water!" Merlin whispered while bending down to Arthur, their faces just inches apart. "Fun at the lake my ass! I'm out; you can have your stupid arrogant fun without me." The raven haired turned around and walked away without glancing back.

Arthur just sat there dumbfounded. Merlin couldn't swim? Why couldn't he swim? And more importantly, why hadn't he just said so?

"I seriously though he was going to punch you in the face" Gwaine mumbled as he watched the retreating form of their friend. "You deserve it" He added while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Seriously Arthur, he can't even swim!" Elyan scolded while he put on his sunglasses.

"How should I have known that?!" Arthur responded and looked away, not wanting to face the disapproval of the others.

"But you could have just listened to him when he told you that he didn't want to go into the water. Didn't you think that he had a reason?" Percival suddenly pointed out.

"Well…no. I just thought…" Arthur trailed of, not knowing what he actually wanted to say.

"That's the problem, Princess. You didn't think. Not about Merlin's well being at least." Gwaine said without sympathy for Arthur's growing guilt.

"Look, I'm sorry and I regret throwing him into the water. Satisfied?" Arthur mumbled, slightly ashamed. He hoped that the others would forgive him, then they could support him with apologizing to Merlin. If Arthur was honest, he didn't really want to go and speak with the utterly pissed Merlin alone.

"Arthur, you should apologize to Merlin, not to us." Lancelot said with a serious tone, but a soft smile lightened up his face.

Arthur just sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright…Does anybody want to accompany me?" He asked with the most innocent smile he could force onto his face.

"You should do this alone, Arthur. But we wish you good luck." Leon said that as if Arthur was going off into some kind of life threatening battle.

Arthur just stood up with a sigh and made his way to where he assumed Merlin must have gone to.

He just hoped he would get out of this alive.

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"Uggh! He is so stupid! Endlessly stupid! The most stupid on earth _and_ in heaven! He is so stupid; he doesn't even deserve my help!"

To say that Merlin was angry with Arthur would be an understatement. The young angel had been so close to punching Arthur, but he had been able to hold himself back. Partly because he was sure that Arthur would just punch him back, probably even harder, and partly because he was Arthur's guardian angel. It was only permitted to use violence when it was necessary to defend one's protégé. The worst thing a guardian could probably do was to hurt his protégé and Merlin really didn't want to break the law. Who knew what punishment would have awaited him?

With an exasperated sigh, Merlin slowed down and stopped right under a tree near the edge of the lake, but still far enough from it to keep the raven haired safe from the water.

He sat down and rested his back against the trunk, eyes slowly falling shut again. Being out in the sun always made him feel so tired…

Back at home, the sun had been shining almost every day, since they were high above the clouds. It really was a curse to have such pale skin then, because he would always get a sunburn if he wasn't careful.

And Will would always tease him about it and his mother would always scold him when he stayed in the sun for too long. But then she would smile at him and use her powers to heal his skin. His mother had never been a guardian angel, since she had given birth to him before she had completed her education, but she never complained about that. Merlin guessed that she was afraid of going down to earth and preferred to stay in heaven.

Now that he wasn't a child anymore, his mother had become a medical angel and healed angels who weren't able to heal themselves.

Merlin himself wasn't an expert at healing; he just knew the basics which every angel had to learn. He had always been better at releasing energy, mostly in form of fire, lightning or shockwaves. Not that he was destructive or something; it was just that this was more natural to him than healing someone. Maybe it had to do something with Kilgarrah's education?

Merlin silently smiled to himself while he thought about all those he had to left behind; he really missed them…

Oh no, now he was getting homesick.

The smile on the young angel's face started to vanish and he blinked his eyes open.

He literally jumped to his feet when he noticed a girl sitting right in front of him, staring at him as if he was some kind of painting in a museum. Why hadn't he felt her presence?

"Um…err…Sorry…" The girl mumbled and hastily scooted to her feet, taking a few steps away from Merlin and giving him some space.

When he had escaped his state of shock, the raven haired gave the girl in front of him a closer look.

She had long dark brown hair and warm hazel eyes that still stared at him with mild curiosity. The girl was wearing a long moss green dress and no shoes.

Merlin couldn't help but smile at the girl; she made him feel like he was at home. He simply ignored the fact that her aura confused him, he could think about that later.

"You don't have to apologize" He simply said and sat back down again, still smiling like an idiot. "Why don't you keep me company?"

The girl looked at him for a moment with an unreadable expression, before she nodded and made herself comfortable next to the raven haired.

"I'm Merlin by the way" he introduced himself and held out his hand so the girl could shake it.

"I'm Freya" She answered with a shy smile and took his hand. They shook and then let go again, although a little reluctantly. Merlin was sure he had never felt such soft and warm hands in his own.

"That guy was mean" Freya suddenly said and earned a confused look from Merlin. "That blonde guy, he was pretty mean to you"

Merlin felt a little heat rising to his face and he cursed himself. "You saw that?" He mumbled ashamed and stared at the ground.

"Yeah…But it's okay. I like people who admit their weaknesses much more than some stupid bully." She said with a bright smile and Merlin noticed how his heart skipped a beat. She was such a kind girl…

"Thanks, that cheered me up" He said with a smile and lost himself in Freya's deep and warm eyes. He didn't want to see anything else again, just those eyes that made him nervous and calm at the same time.

She brushed a few strands of hair out of her face and gazed up at him. "I could teach you how to swim, if you want" She offered with a sweet smile. "But I won't force you to anything if you want to keep your distance from the water."

Merlin tilted his head slightly and considered her offer. Suddenly entering the water didn't sound so bad if Freya would be in his company. "I'll think about it" the raven haired replied with a short glance at the water.

"I promise, once you can swim, you won't want to ever leave the water again." Freya exclaimed and her expression seemed to lighten up, she really seemed to love the water. Maybe, Merlin thought, he could learn to love the water too if Freya was his teacher.

"When you say that I can't help but believe you" he teased and unconsciously came her a little closer. Freya chuckled and it sounded like the ringing of golden bells to Merlin.

"We have to meet here again…" She said but trailed of as they came closer to each other.

A small blush found its way to his face as it was just inches apart from Freya's. He could see every one of her long dark lashes and the light that danced in her eyes.

Now Freya was blushing too and her eyes slowly fluttered shut.

The raven haired's gaze wandered from her eyes over her face down to her lips. Soft, pink kissable lips…

Merlin came even closer, feeling his heart beat in his chest loudly…

Wasn't that happening to soon?! He only met that girl a few minutes ago! And yet…he felt drawn to her like he had never felt before… Maybe he should just-

"Merlin! There you are!"

Merlin jumped a little as he heard the voice of a certain blonde and instantly leaned away from Freya out of reflex. She did the same and stared at the ground with a bright red face.

The young angel imagined that his face was the same color and he turned around slowly, sending a death glare at his protégé.

"Arthur." He said simply, his face a stoic mask. He was still angry from earlier and now he was even angrier. That prat ruined everything, really _everything!_

Although, he had to admit, he was a little bit thankful that he hadn't continued… It would have been a mistake to just kiss a girl he had only just met, right?

And there was still the thing with her aura… She wasn't a fallen angel that was for sure… She felt a little like an angel, but not quite… She also felt a little like a human, but then again she didn't… It was just confusing to say the least, but as Merlin though about it, he came to the realization that he simply didn't care.

It didn't matter who or what Freya was, at least not to him. It was enough that she existed.

"What do you want?" He asked his protégé with a sigh. Arthur looked slightly uncomfortable and glanced at Freya every few seconds.

"Did I…interrupt something?" He asked sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

Merlin felt himself blush again but glared at Arthur nonetheless. "Yeah, but that doesn't matter now, does it?"

Arthur looked at the ground before he glanced up at the raven haired with guilt in his eyes.

"I just came here to say sorry…I really regret throwing you into the water against your will…I know that I behaved stupid and mean… "

Merlin looked at his protégé for a few seconds, figuring that he probably meant what he said. His features softened and gave Arthur a little smile, he just couldn't be angry at him when he was apologizing with such honesty.

"Alright, I forgive you."

Arthur stared at the raven haired with big eyes. He forgave him? Just like that? Well, he surely wouldn't question that.

"I have to go now. But I'm sure we will meet again soon, Merlin." Freya suddenly said to him, but her eyes were directed at the sun which was slowly starting to set. With a last smile, she turned around and walked away, her moss green dress floating behind her.

Merlin just stood there and watched how she vanished behind some trees. He was already missing her…

"I didn't know you were such a womanizer. Is that your girlfriend? You have to introduce us the next time" Arthur teased and slung an arm around Merlin's shoulder; he was just glad to be getting along with Merlin again.

"She's not my girlfriend." Merlin said and rolled his eyes, shrugging of Arthur's arm but not in an aggressive manner.

"_Sure_."

"No, seriously, I only met her today."

"What, and then you attempt to _kiss_ her?!"

"I'm not as slow as you. By the way, Gwen is still angry at you."

"Who understands the taste of women?"

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The warm summer wind was blowing her dark hair into every direction. Wide spread wings cut sharply through the air, leaving some lone snow white feathers floating through the air before slowly falling to the ground.

Freya loved it to fly while the sun was setting; it always felt so warm and comforting, as if the sunset would just wash away her sorrows. But at the same time, she feared the sunset. Not the sunset directly, but what would be happing when it was over. It would become dark and the moon would raise high above her head.

It would become night.

But today, Freya didn't even notice the sunset; her mind was occupied with other things.

Or more specific; with one person.

Merlin.

What a wonderful name, suitable for a wonderful person like him.

Freya had no experience with that, but she felt drawn to the angel. His smile would make her feel secure and his touch would make her heart beat faster in her chest.

Was that what they called love?

Freya didn't remember having ever felt like that. She really wanted to see Merlin again, especially to see the real Merlin; with wings and golden eyes. Freya dreamed of flying through the clouds with him, of teaching him how to swim and of watching the sunset with him.

She suddenly realized that the latter probably wasn't a good idea. He didn't know what she was.

Would he hate her? Would he call her a monster if he found out?

Freya didn't dare to think about it. She just wouldn't tell him and they would just meet in the daylight and not at night. But who was she kidding? Merlin would find out eventually and then he would leave her like everybody else had. And she would be all alone again…

But no, Merlin wouldn't do that; he was far too kind hearted for that, right? He wouldn't hurt her; she had seen it in his eyes. Freya believed his unspoken words, she trusted Merlin with everything she had, even though they had just met, she knew she loved him.

And Merlin must like her too, right? Otherwise he wouldn't have tried to kiss her.

A blush appeared on her cheeks at that thought and for a moment Freya didn't look where she was flying. She barely managed to avoid crashing into a church tower and decided that any further flying was too dangerous at the moment so Freya landed on the roof of the church, where she made herself comfortable.

She slowly closed her eyes but she always saw the lovely face of one certain guardian angel. His bright smile; those big blue eyes that covered probably even more beautiful golden ones; that soft black hair and those utterly cute ears.

Lost in her daydreaming, Freya failed to notice how dark it was getting until the moon stood high in the sky, surrounded by twinkling stars.

The bell in the church tower rang twelve times and Freya's eyes suddenly snapped open and she stared blankly at the dark sky above her.

It was midnight.

With some kind of resigned horror, the brunette watched as her previously snow white wings turned pitch black.

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**A/N:** I hope it was to your liking, a review would be nice :) Like I already said, I'm going on a trip to London, so no updates for the next two weeks…I hope you don't mind :)

The next chapter contains: Morgause and Mordred wreaking havoc and Arthur getting injured (no more Freylin for the next chapters, sorry for those who want more, you'll have to wait)

Until next time and enjoy your summer~

**by DarkChain**


	9. Healing Angel

**A/N:** I'm back from London! It was just great; I enjoyed my trip really much :) So, here's the next chapter ;) Everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited deserves the hugest of thanks; you're great, guys :D

Read and enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Hey, I have to tell you a secret. I don't own Merlin! I know - shocking.

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**CHAPTER 9: HEALING ANGEL**

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"I'm bored."

Morgause stated with an emotionless voice and pulled at a loose strand of her blonde hair. She was currently lying on her back at Morgana's black leather sofa and stared at the ceiling above her. Her sister was sitting in an armchair with a tired look on her face while typing away on her phone. "Not my problem." She retorted and didn't look up for a second.

"Hey, since when did you have become so grumpy?" The blonde asked with a quirked eyebrow, her cold eyes flickering over to her sister for only s split second, still without emotion.

"She's just lacking sleep." A voice echoed from the kitchen and a moment later, Mordred stepped in. He held a cup of tea in his hand and walked over to the girls, sitting down on the sofa next to Morgause's high heel wearing feet. "Really, take of your shoes when you're a guest in someone's house." He scolded and sipped at his tea.

Ignoring his last words, the blonde sat up and stared at her half-sister for a moment before breaking into a smirk. "How much longer until she's one of us?"

The boy rolled his eyes at Morgause's enthusiasm but answered nonetheless. "One, maybe two weeks."

The woman's smirk grew wider and she looked at her sister again, this time with a dark look in her eyes. "Aren't you scared?"

Morgana looked up from her phone and turned her head over to her half-sister, eyes shining cold. "Of course not. I can't say I look forward to it either, I just see it as some kind of…necessity."

Morgause started to chuckle and stood up from where she was lying. "Look at you, already void of emotion."

The raven haired girl just rolled her eyes and started typing on her phone again. "Whatever."

The blonde walked over to the other fallen angel and pulled a little at his dark locks. "Mordred, let's go do something fun!"

The boy looked up at her with a grin and nodded. "I thought you would ask never." He quickly emptied his cup and placed it on the coffee table.

"Can I come too?" Morgana chimed in while putting her phone in her handbag. Her sister tilted her head and thought about it for a moment before answering.

"No, you aren't a full fallen angel yet, so you would just be in the way. Just practice your fencing stuff."

The younger girl glared at her sister for a moment, before breaking into a small smile and grabbing an epee that leaned against the wall. "You're right sister, I should do that." She said and left the room with a small smirk on her face. As soon as Morgana had left the room, Morgause walked up to Mordred and bent down to him.

"She's already stronger than both of us and she hasn't fully changed yet." The blonde whispered, her lips barely brushing the boy's ear. He recognized the serious tone in her voice and it sent shivers down his spine.

"I noticed" Mordred growled, quickly moving away from the older woman. "But wasn't that the plan from the beginning?"

Morgause just sighed at how naïve the boy was; he really didn't understand the way things worked for fallen angels.

"You just don't get it, do you? Of course we wanted her to get strong! That's the reason why I spent so much time with her; that's why I advanced her hatred. But now…this stupid angel has to appear here!" She growled and threw a pillow from the sofa to the other side of the room, thus knocking over an empty vase.

"That changes everything!" She continued with a grim look on her beautiful features. "He's a hindrance, and in the worst case he could alert one of the archangel's. Wouldn't look so bright for us if he did."

Mordred stayed silent for a minute, before tilting his head and looking up at the blonde. "Then we just have to get rid of him."

Morgause stared at the younger one, disbelief written all over her face. "It's not that simple. Have you ever fought an angel?"

The dark haired just shook his head, waiting for her to continue.

"Angel's can't be killed just like that. If you want to kill one, you have to get rid of his powers first."

"How do you do that?" Mordred asked, curios about how he would be able to slaughter such a sickly pure being.

"You have to tear out his wings first, then a big part of his powers will perish. Killing him then will be a piece of cake. But of course that wouldn't work with an archangel. We're lucky that he isn't one" Morgause explained with a smirk, already imagining blood covered white feathers in her hands.

"Leave it to me, you focus on Morgana." She added, while getting up to leave their flat.

"Come on, let's destroy some buildings."

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"As you all know, the national tournament takes place in ten days. We can't afford to slack off now, so I trust you to train responsibly. Especially you, _Gwaine_."

The brunette looked up from where he was chatting with Merlin. "Why _me_?! You're the one who always get's distracted by Merlin!" He defended himself, while ignoring the guilty look on the raven haired's face next to him.

Arthur just snorted and rolled his eyes. "That's not true. Now get going and start training. Your first opponent will be me."

Gwaine groaned but got up nevertheless, grabbing his epee and putting on his mask. "Just watch me, Merlin. I'm so gonna beat Princess today!"

Merlin chuckled as he watched Gwaine walking over to his protégé. Gwaine said the same sentence during every training session but the closest he ever got to beating Arthur was a draw when both of them were too exhausted to continue. Yet Gwaine never gave up and remained confident. It was something Merlin admired him for.

The angel watched as everyone started fighting, Arthur shouting instructions while parrying Gwaine's strikes with ease.

"Elyan, good footwork but you have to become faster with your swords arm!"

"Percival, don't only rely on your strength, use your techniques!"

"Gwaine, concentrate on your defense, I just landed three hits in a row on your chest!"

"Lance, get out of your shell, be a little more aggressive!"

"Leon….Keep up the good work!"

"Merlin, you're the mascot, do more cheering!"

"Shut, up, you prat! Stop jelling!"

Even though Merlin couldn't see Arthur's face, he somehow knew that his friend was smiling right now. He sometimes felt as if it was more important to keep his protégé smiling than to protect him. But then again, wasn't that some kind of protection as well?

Merlin watched the elegant moves of the blonde with a small smile on his face. Suddenly, the tip of his epee met the tip of Gwaine's epee, both swords bending into round shapes. They stayed like that for a moment until, with a loud cracking noise; Arthur's epee broke into two pieces, one staying in his hand, the other flying through the air before landing at Merlin's feet.

Everyone stared at Arthur for a moment, before Gwaine suddenly started laughing and took of his mask. "Looks like I've won due to combat disability!"

"H-hey, that's unfair!" Arthur complained as he took of his mask as well, revealing a pout on his lips.

"Just take one of the other epees and continue with the match." Lance suggested as he paused in his fight with Leon.

"You know he doesn't do that. Arthur doesn't like the epees provided from the CPC, so he always buys his own." Percival objected while looking at the pile of epees that was stored away in a corner.

Arthur sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Merlin, you come with me to town, we'll buy a new epee." Arthur stated and made his way over to the locker room.

"What? Now?" Merlin asked dumbfounded and stared at the retreating form of his protégé.

"Of course now, don't ask stupid questions. The rest of you…" He looked over at his men with a little too smug smirk. "Will continue with your practice until I'm back."

"Whaaaaaat?!" Gwaine exclaimed with a disbelieving look on his face. "Knowing you, it will take _hours _for you to decide which one to buy!"

"I recommend you use your extra training time." Arthur said and left the room, followed by Merlin who waved his friends a quick goodbye.

…

…

…

A few minutes later the blonde and the raven haired made their way through the streets of the city. Arthur walked without hesitation; he seemed to know exactly where he was going compared to Merlin. He just followed his protégé around, hoping that what Gwaine had said was exaggerated. Nobody would be too keen on spending hours in an epee-shop with a prat who couldn't decide.

After a few minutes of walking, the angel decided to start a conversation.

"So…This tournament, how important is it exactly?" He asked and looked into the steel blue eyes of friend. It seemed to him that Arthur would do anything to win, as if it was…vital.

"Well, it's the National College Fencing Tournament, so it is a really big event" The blonde started to explain with a determined on his face. "We usually participate every year, but this is the first year that Morgana's team is taking part as well…"

Merlin didn't fail to notice the bitterness in his protégé's voice and he already feared the day that Arthur and Morgana would meet face to face again. She would definitely hurt him, both physically and emotionally. But Arthur had a guardian angel now; Merlin just hoped he could do something against his friend's half-sister. He somehow had the feeling she would become an endangerment.

"Where does it take place?" The raven haired asked, trying to distract both him and Arthur from their previous thoughts.

"I think this year it's in Bristol, normally the tournament lasts three days." Arthur explained, a small smile making it's way onto his lips. So not everything he felt about the tournament was forced and negative, he also seemed to look forward to it. That fact made Merlin smile too and he decided he would help Arthur with his training as best as he could, he wished for his protégé to win this tournament; he and the other's deserved it. They all had trained so hard!

"Oh, that sounds nice. So you're all going to Bristol for three days next Friday?" Merlin said, his voice sounding a little worried. He was reluctant to leave Arthur alone for a few hours, let alone three whole days. And he was going to Bristol, which wasn't exactly around the corner. _And_ Morgana would be there, together with her whole fencing team.

Only now was it that the young angel noticed the stare of Arthur on him. "What?" He asked, a little uncertain. Had he said something wrong?

"Don't be such an idiot; you'll be coming too of course!" Arthur exclaimed while patting him on the shoulder.

"Huh?" Merlin was surprised to say the least. He sure hadn't expected that. Suddenly, a huge grin appeared on his lips and he felt his chest warm up a little.

"Yeah, you're right; you all would be lost without me." Merlin teased with a wink and his eyes glinted for a second.

Maybe, Arthur thought with a silent smile as they entered the epee-shop, Merlin wasn't that wrong with this statement.

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"That one's got a nice feeling to it…" Arthur mumbled while holding his new epee into the air. "I'm eager to give it a try" He said with a smile and tucked it back into the case. "Let's get going" He added and opened the door of the shop, Merlin following behind.

Arthur's eyes widened to the size of plates as he left the shop and stepped onto the street. "What the hell happened here?!"

He heard Merlin gasp from behind him.

Right before their eyes, the whole street was left in debris. Meter long cracks went through the pavement, some windows were broken and the sharp glass pieces covered the ground. A street lantern had fallen onto a car; another one was bent into an arch.

The street was empty of life, not even a bird was flying through the sky.

"This…This looks terrible! Maybe an earthquake…?" Merlin whispered but thought about something entirely else. This was clearly the work of fallen angels, most likely Mordred and that blonde woman, Morgause. Just then he realized how lucky he had been that Arthur had spent two entire hours in this shop, otherwise they would have left sooner and maybe met one of those two.

The angel didn't even dare to think about what could have happened then…

But just how did they manage to remain unnoticed? Merlin hadn't even sensed them, let alone heard or saw anything… They must have surely made a lot of noise, this was strange… Maybe they had used some kind of spell…?

"We should call the police…" Arthur suddenly said and rummaged through his bag. Just in this moment, something above their heads made a crunching noise and Merlin looked up. His pseudo blue eyes widened almost comically, as he saw how the whole roof seemed to crash down on them any moment. Then his mind and eyes flashed to Arthur, who was starting to type on his phone, oblivious to the danger above them.

"Arthur! Watch out!" Merlin screamed, panic and fear dwelling up inside him, tightening his chest and making it hard to breathe, he had to do something or his protégé would soon be buried under a roof! While restraining his wings, the young angel lunged forward and tackled the blonde to the ground, just in time before bricks and tiles landed where they had just been standing.

Merlin stayed still for a moment, trying to break out of the shock he was in. Arthur was safe, he wouldn't die, no need to get all panicked now.

"A-are you alright, Arthur?" He asked concerned while getting off of the older one. He eyed the blonde who was sitting on the ground, staring at the pile of bricks and tiles.

"I-I'm fine…Thank you..." His protégé mumbled after a little coughing from all the dust around them. This wasn't the first time that Merlin had saved him from a dangerous situation… Arthur wasn't stupid; he realized that there was something off with Merlin having that strange timing… It was confusing and Arthur felt like in some kind of novel.

As he tried to get up, a burning pain suddenly shot through his ankle, making him wince and immediately falling back onto the ground again.

With a groan, he gripped his ankle, flinching as he felt the swelling. "I think it's broken…" Arthur pressed out through gritted teeth and leaned himself against the dusty wall of the epee-shop. He looked up and was surprised to see the resigned and yet worried look in Merlin's narrowed eyes.

"Should I call an ambulance?" He asked while he sat down next to Arthur, slowly massaging his temples. The angel felt a headache growing and he sighed, missing the untroubled life in heaven, yet not complaining about being here with Arthur. He just wished he didn't have to hide what he was; it would be so much easier.

"No, you don't have to…I'll…I'll just go see Gaius later…." Arthur said as he closed his eyes in pain. "Dammit…" He had just realized that he would probably be not able to participate in the tournament with this injury… Then Morgana would win and his father would be utterly disappointed; he couldn't let this happen, but what could he do about it?

With a desperate sigh, Arthur banged his head against the wall several times, until he suddenly found a pair of firm hands holding his head away from the wall. As he blinked his eyes open, he wasn't surprised to meet gaze of Merlin with his own and he instantly looked away.

"Arthur, suicide is not an option" Merlin teased in the attempt to lighten the mood, receiving a slightly forced smile from Arthur.

"I don't have to kill myself; my father will probably do the job now that I'm not able to fight" He explained grimly while pointing at his swollen ankle.

"Don't say that!" Merlin said, surprise evident in his voice. "He's your father, he'll understand."

Arthur just shook his head and closed his eyes again. "You don't know him. All he's concerned about is that I'm successful in sports and academics…" Arthur trailed off and balled his hands into fists.

Suddenly, the hands which had previously rested at the sidse of his face, rested on his own hands, opening and intertwining with them. "Everything is going to be alright" He heard Merlin's reassuring voice and the tight knot in his chest lifted a bit. Somehow he just had to believe in the raven haired's words.

"You don't even know if it's broken, it could be just twisted. I'm sure you'll be able to win the tournament" _Even if I have to heal you first._ The young angel added in his head.

"Thanks, Merlin. Let's get go-" The blonde was interrupted midsentence by a slightly hysterical laughter. Both men turned their heads around just to see the form of Morgana Pendragon, leaning against the bent lantern. Her long dark hair was bound into a ponytail and she was wearing the protective clothing every fencer wore, just without the mask. In her right hand was dangling a black epee, the tip covered in a red liquid. Blood.

"If it isn't my dear brother and his little angel." She snarled, a slightly wicked grin on her red lips.

_She knows! _Merlin thought, getting slightly panicked for the second time this day. She was going to tell Arthur and then and then- No. It wouldn't come that far. She was still human, Merlin could feel it, and she wouldn't dare to tell Arthur. Even if she did, there was no way Arthur would believe her. Everything was fine. Merlin glanced at the blood covered epee. Well, everything was fine concerning his secret; the rest would work out as well.

"What have you done?" Arthur asked bitterly, staring at the blood which slowly dripped onto the ground and formed a small puddle.

"Oh, I've just been training a little for the tournament." She replied casually and Merlin could almost see the darkness emanating from her. He had suspected that but now it was confirmed. Morgana was changing; she would eventually become a fallen angel, then there would be three of them. Merlin didn't know with what he had deserved this misery…

"You say training, yet it seems like you killed someone…" Arthur whispered, narrowing his eyes in suspicion and disgust. He couldn't believe what had become of his sweet little sister.

"Whatever" he said with a smirk and waved her hand dismissively. "I'm not here for talking. I'm here to fight you"

Arthur was already about to agree, until he saw the look on Merlin's face. _Don't._ It said, not more not less. Arthur answered with a look of his own. _Sorry._

"Alright" He said to his sister while forcing himself to his feet, just barely able to keep standing. He pulled out his newly bought epee and positioned himself in a fighting stance.

"Arthur" Merlin whispered into his ear, sounding a little disappointed. "Why do you do that? You'll just make your injury worse!"

Arthur nodded and looked into Merlin's eyes deeply. "I know that, but if I don't fight her, she won't leave us alone."

The raven haired looked sad and it seemed like he was struggling with himself. "You stupid prat." He just said before turning around and stepping back a little.

Arthur took a few unsteady steps towards Morgana and pointed his epee at her chest. "Let's get this over with."

…

…

Soon, a heated battle started and Arthur was about to lose it. He didn't even wear protective clothing, dammit! Merlin had to do something, his protégé was being scratched over and over again and he could see the pain cloud the blonde's eyes whenever he strained his ankle.

Merlin took a deep breath and decided to take action. With a silent raise of his hand, the young angel watched as Arthur's ankle made a crunching noise and the broken bone was growing together. His protégé gasped in pain, but was soon relieved as it faded away.

The fight took an unexpected turn, as Arthur managed to tear the protective clothing of Morgana apart. This epee must be worth it's money.

The girl hissed and attacked with new force, letting Arthur look as if he had went through a shredding machine. He suddenly stumbled over a heap of ruins and landed in a crack of the street, staring at the tip of the epee right in front of his face with wide opened eyes. Morgana glared at him with a smirk and thightened the grip around her epee, ready to pirce through her half-brother's eye. This was looking bad, but what could he do? Hoping for a miracle was all that came to the blonde's mind in this moment.

"Stop it, Morgana. Now's not the time." A loud female voice echoed through the street. That must be his miracle; Arthur thought and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Everyone turned around to where it was coming from and suddenly Morgause stood next to Morgana, dragging her away from her half-brother.

"What are you doing?!" She protested and tried to free herself from her sister's iron grip.

"Don't worry, I'll explain later" The blonde beauty whispered and dragged the dark-haired girl away into the shadow of some alley.

"Good bye, bother! Good bye, little angel!" She screamed and waved at them before being dragged away.

Merlin just stared after them, eyes narrowed. With a sigh he shook his head and walked over to his protégé. "Are you alright?"

"Just scratches" Arthur said dismissively and stared at his ankle; the swelling was completely gone. Then he turned around to look at his friend. Merlin had done it again; he somehow knew the healing of his ankle was Merlin's doing, he just didn't understand how it was possible in any way.

Merlin was looking at him with confusion, but Arthur examined the raven haired with a stern expression.

_Merlin, just who are you?_

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you liked it, sorry for any mistakes ;) I know you know it, but reviews are always welcome :D

The next chapter contains: Heavy fights and heavy poisoning on Arthur's side of course

**P.S.:** By the way, something I was thinking about…. Are there any guys reading this? I'd like to know :)

Until next time and enjoy your summer~

**by DarkChain**


	10. Panicking Angel

**A/N:** OMG. This chapter turned out so huge! It wasn't intended at all, I don't know, it just happened! Anyways, here it is, the hugest chapter ever :D

Oh, I also just realized that, with this chapter, we're already halfway through this story, since I planned this to be a twenty chapter fic :)

And my usual thanks to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited :)

Read and enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Merlin. Do I have to say anything else?

* * *

**CHAPTER 10: PANICKING ANGEL**

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

"Shit!"

Morgause usually wasn't a person who easily got worked up over something. She actually was a calm natured fallen angel, less into hysterical laughter and more into silent treatment. Alright, she was also easily angered and vengeful, but in a calm way. At least from her point of view.

Sometimes though, she had to give in and throw a tantrum. And by that she didn't mean the occasional destruction of buildings or the usual robbing of banks.

What Morgause meant was much more ordinary. She sometimes just had to yell when she was frustrated. And she sure as hell was by now. Alright, maybe she also was a little bit drunk (not that fallen angels actually could get drunk), but that got nothing to do with it.

"Shit, shit, shit! Morgana, where are you, little sister?! Come on, now! Get your damn ass here; I'm sick of looking for ya!" She screamed and kicked a stone in front of her which flew into a car and broke its window. Oh well. At least that car didn't have an annoying alarm sytem.

Morgause was searching for her half-sister for over three hours now (minus the one hour she had spent at a bar) and the frustration was steadily building up in her.

Morgana was dangerous and unpredictable at the moment, full of hatred and immature powers. It also was possible that she transformed into a fallen angel any moment and if that stupid angel boy happened to notice, they all were in some kind of mess.

That's why she and Mordred had agreed to keep an eye on Morgana 24/7 but it was just impossible. While Mordred was out doing shopping, the blonde fallen angel had stayed at home with her sister. They had had a nice talk about why you couldn't just wander around and attack humans with an epee and everything had been fine.

That was, until Morgause had had to go to the bathroom. When she had come back, her sister had already vanished from their flat.

The blonde was currently running through the street their flat was located in, a meanwhile warm beer in her hand. It was a nice clean street, lined with neat gardens full of rhododendron's and rose bushes. The houses were all pretty small with colored garden fences and other cheesy stuff.

Really, it wasn't exactly the area of town where you would suspect two and a half fallen angels to live. Hey, that sounded like a good TV show: Two and a half fallen angels.

Morgause couldn't suppress a childish giggle escaping her lips and instantly scolded her slightly drunken mind.

Anyways, she had already searched the whole town for her sister. Twice.

With little hope of finding her half-sister anytime soon, Morgause sat down on the wayside and sipped at her beer. She couldn't go back to the flat just yet.

Mordred had been pretty pissed when she had told him how Morgana had escaped her grip. He had decided to stay at the flat, in case the dark haired girl would be coming back. He also had said something along the lines of: Don't come back until you found her!

So yeah. That's why she had to keep looking, even though she was sure that Morgana couldn't be found if she really didn't want to. They probably just had to wait until the girl got bored with whatever she was doing and came back to them. How annoying.

With an exaggerated sigh, Morgause got up from where she was sitting and looked the street up and down once again. Still no sign of anyone, let alone her sister. This street was as empty as the brain of an angel.

While balancing on the curbstone with her still high heel wearing feet, the blonde made her way back to their flat. Stupid Mordred couldn't order her around!

When she was just about to open the entrance door of the multi-family house they lived in, she decided to first walk through their garden. She hadn't looked there for her sister because Morgause just couldn't imagine why Morgana would sit in a garden full of rhododendrons. Really, who had given that stupid bush this ridiculous name?! Anyway, there was no way Morgana was in the garden.

But maybe she should just give it a try…?

As the blonde entered the garden, she suddenly saw Mordred standing there; his dark curl's swaying softly in the wind.

"Hey, what are you doing?" The woman asked while walking up to him, careful to not let her heels sink into the grass.

"There's a hole in our garden which wasn't there yesterday." The boy just explained and Morgause noticed that he was staring at the ground with furrowed brows.

"A hole…?" When she stood beside him, the blonde understood what he meant. In the middle of the herbs was a gaping hole where once must have stood some sort of plant. Morgause crossed her arms in front of her chest and emptied her beer. Then she suddenly remembered what was missing from their garden.

"Hasn't the Belladonna plant been standing in that spot?" She asked curiously and pointed at the hole.

"Belladonna?" Came the confused reply from the younger one. Seriously, she had to teach this boy about poisons some day.

"Yeah, it's also called Deadly Nightshade." Morgause explained with a slight frown on her beautiful features. "It can be used for medicaments but in a high dose it's highly poisonous and even deadly."

Mordred started too frown again and pinched the bridge of his nose while he did some thinking.

"Why would she take it? Who would she intend to poison?" He mumbled more to himself then to Morgause while starting to walk up and down in the garden, avoiding stepping onto any of the various plants. Suddenly a loud chuckle gained his attention and his eyes broke from the ground.

"Why, isn't it obvious?" Morgause said with a smirk and a dangerous glint in her cold eyes.

"She is trying to kill Arthur. And this time… I won't stop her."

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

"Seriously, how could you have forgotten us?!"

The loud voice of Gwaine echoed through the library, earning him various "Shh!" from the other visitors.

"Are you still going on about that?" Arthur said and looked away, waving his hand dismissively. "I already said sorry."

The brunet just growled in response, clenching his teeth while glaring at the blonde.

Merlin could undersrand his anger. Yesterday, after Arthur's 'battle' with Morgana, they had completely forgotten about the others from the fencing team.

Gwaine was pretty worked up because of this, since he had trained until eight in the evening before Merlin had come running into the gym, telling him how sorry he was, but Arthur had gotten hurt and they had went straight to Gaius and he was so sorry but they had completely forgotten about them.

Of course Gwaine wasn't angry with Merlin; he could never be and it wasn't really the raven haired's fault.

No, it was Arthur who deserved his anger and Gwaine wasn't reluctant to show it.

"To say sorry just isn't always enough" He whispered and turned away from the blond while sticking his nose into a book. He would save that for later, something else was more important now.

They still had a presentation to finish, that's why the three of them were currently sitting in the college's huge library. Merlin had the feeling that they were doing fine and with a bit of luck, they would be able to finish their presentation today.

While Merlin was busy creating the layout on his laptop, Arthur's mind was occupied otherwise.

His thoughts wandered to the mysterious boy in front of him every few seconds and it was absolutely impossible for him to concentrate on anything else.

Just who was Merlin exactly? He seemed to never talk about himself much… Arthur had noticed that Merlin wasn't shy, by no means. He was probably the liveliest person he knew. And yet it seemed like he knew nothing about the younger one at all.

While his steel blue eyes stared into the depth of cerulean ones, he started to wonder if Merlin really existed. His presence was just so absurd. Merlin seemed to always be there when he needed him; he always seemed to do the right things in the right moment.

It also was really rare to see Merlin angry, and if he was, he soon would forgive everyone. He also always wore this stupid bright grin of his, it just wasn't normal.

Arthur felt as if Merlin was some kind of product from his imagination and that he would vanish if he dared to look away from him.

But that was rubbish of course; Arthur never had had an imaginary friend and he surely wouldn't want one now.

But why was Merlin here? It seemed like he had come here for a reason, yet he had never said anything about it

Arthur broke his gaze away from his friend's eyes and started to scribble something on a piece of paper, just to make it look like he was actually doing work. When he looked down at the paper, he was surprised to see what he had written.

_Things I know about Merlin:_

Arthur stared at the five words for a second, before nodding with determination and starting to write again.

_His name is Merlin Emrys._

_He's a scholarship student._

_He came to the CPC on May 3__rd__._

_He lived in a village in Wales._

_He_

Arthur stopped in his writing and his eyes narrowed. That was all. Four facts about his (dare he think that) best friend. That was absolutely nothing; you could probably get this information by googling his name!

The blonde sighed in frustration and was just about to crumble the piece of paper, when suddenly other things came to his mind.

_He can't swim._

_He never pays attention in the lectures or learns anything, yet he says he's got a scholarship._

_He's surprised by how big this college is._

_He can't have gotten his scholarship by paying father._

_He says he doesn't know the city, yet he managed to find me when I was in danger. _

_He did number 10 twice._

Arthur stopped writing once again, staring at the words. This just got stranger with any second… Maybe Arthur was just being paranoid? No, he was sure there was more to Merlin than the eye could see, he just couldn't quite put his finger on it. Arthur thought for a moment and even more things came to his mind that didn't seem to fit the picture everyone had of Merlin.

_When I just had met him, he helped me after my fight. I never got to know what happened to these bulks._

_After I was threatened in the bank, he refused to explain me what had happened._

_Since I met him, my injuries heal faster._

_When I first met him, he had a strange effect on me and I felt something like an electric shock when we shook hands._

_He seemed to know me._

_Morgana seemed to know him._

_My ankle was healed yesterday, but I'm sure it was broken._

Arthur stopped and read his list from the beginning to the end.

It was terrifying and Arthur once again felt like in some kind of novel. Just what had happened to his live?

"I'm finished" Gwaine exclaimed suddenly, startling Arthur. Quickly, without anyone noticing, he tucked the piece of paper away and closed his books.

"Me too" He added and smiled at Gwaine, happy that he wasn't angry right now.

"I've finished the most of my part as well. I'll just put everything together and then our presentation will be complete" Merlin said with a grin and Arthur instantly looked away in the fear that the raven haired could read his thoughts in his eyes. He wasn't surprised if he could.

"I'm going to show you how it looks in the end today at supper." Merlin continued and shut down his laptop, tucking it into his bag.

"Alright, see you later, mate" Gwaine said with a grin and patted Merlin on the shoulder while getting up. "I still haven't forgiven you, princess" The brunet added with a stern look towards the blonde, before turning around and leaving the library.

"I already said sorry!" Arthur screamed after him, but he was ignored.

"I have to go now too." Merlin said with a little smile, his cerulean eyes shining a little. Just what was the guy planning? Arthur shook his head to clear his mind and responded to Merlin's smile with one of his own, even if it was a little forced.

"Alright, see you at supper, I guess…" He mumbled and watched as his friend left him alone with a last, slightly concerned, look over the shoulder.

When he was alone, Arthur sighed and banged his head against the table.

Just how could he look Merlin into the eyes like this? He would always see a huge question mark whenever he looked at the raven haired; that was driving him insane

With a determined look on his face, Arthur stood up and left the library.

He had made a decision. He would reveal Merlin's secret, no matter what.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Morgana hated itching. It was annoying, especially when it was at some place where you couldn't scratch.

And right now, the whole skin on her back felt as if there were bugs crawling underneath, it was literally driving her insane.

Still a smirk found a way on her lips. Everything was going according to her plan: She had the Belladonna serum and all that was left to do was to enter the college. That should be easy though, since the security wasn't exactly one of the college's strengths.

With a look to the left and a look the right, Morgana made sure that she was alone in the hallway. Even if someone would see her, they would just think of her of one of the other students. The only ones who could be bothersome were Arthur's friends, since they knew her.

But with a bit of luck, Morgana wouldn't even come near them, considering how big this college was.

As she quickly walked down the hallway, she tried her best no to cry out in frustration. Her back was practically killing her, just why did it have to itch so much? And how the hell could anyone live with that?! Those angels must have nerves of steel.

With a grim expression, she rounded a corner and soon found herself in front of Arthur's room. Like predicted, the door was locked.

Now there were two ways to get inside. Pick the lock or break the door.

Morgana settled for the latter.

As she was just about to kick the door with one of her high heel wearing feet, she heard footsteps behind her. Frozen on the spot, she gritted her teeth angrily and turned around. Just who had to disturb her _now_?

Her eyes widened for a split second as she realized who she was staring it. She broke into yet another smirk at the sight of her father.

Uther was currently standing just mere feet away from her, a confused and utterly irritated look on his face. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and a suitcase was resting at his feet. He wore a dark grey suit, all neat and properly ironed.

"My my, if it isn't my dear _daddy_" The dark haired girl snarled, hatred lingering underneath a bitter-sweet tone. "It's _such _a pleasure to meet you"

"Morgana" Uther spat, his cold eyes narrowing. "Leave. At once."

The smirk on her face slowly grew hysteric and a slightly insane and totally dark chuckle escaped her trembling lips. It continued and grew into a maniac laughter, earning a fearful and surprised look from her father.

His daughter had become a total madwoman, Uther realized with resignation. He always had known that she wasn't totally right in her mind, it had only been a matter of time.

"Leave this instant. I won't hesitate to call the security forces." He threatened coldly and averted his eyes from the girl. She was a total eyesore and her laughter was disgusting.

He didn't want to see the face of his daughter- no, this maniac ever again.

Morgana ignored her father's last sentence, but stopped her laughter. Her back was itching even more than before and she felt a strange sensation in her chest.

As if… As if something wanted to break free… As if there was a monster sealed away in her, just waiting for the right time to come out and wreak havoc.

For a split second, Morgana lost her composure and suddenly looked like what she was. A terrified girl.

"W-what am I…?" A soft whisper escaped her lips, before she shook her head and the little display of emotion stopped.

"Anyway. I'm not going to leave just now. I still have some things to do" She just said, her voice as emotionless as a machine.

Uther's face went red with anger, his eyes glaring daggers. "LEAVE NOW!" He yelled, hands slowly balling into fists. "I don't have time to deal with the likes of you now."

"What, am I such a nuisance to you, father?" The girl said while wrapping a strand of her dark hair around her finger, totally ignorant to the older one's rising fury.

"You are _not_ my daughter! You may have been some time ago, but now you're just a maniac! You've become totally insane!" He spat, crossing his arms in front of his chest to stop them from shaking.

Morgana narrowed her eyes, a dangerous glint in them, her whole body trembling.

"Don't you dare say that" She whispered in a low tone yet it echoed loudly through the hallway.

"You are the one who's insane. You are the one who doesn't deserve to call himself a father."

Morgana reached with her arms behind her back and started scratching, not able to endure this torture any longer.

"Arrgh, why does it have to itch so much?! Maybe it will go away when I kill you?!" She screamed, her eyes wide open with despair and her voice shaking ever so slightly.

Uther backed away from the girl, his expression changing into a confused one. What was she doing?

Suddenly, Morgana lunged forward, her arms wide outstretched and her fingers aiming at Uther's throat. She would end this now, then everything would be fine, right?

When Uther was dead, she would find peace, right?

And Arthur had to die. And his friends. And that angel. And Mordred. And Morgause. The teachers. The citizens. The humans.

Everyone.

Wait, what was she thinking? How would killing them all help her in anyway?

Morgana thought about it while she was rushing at Uther.

Then she came to the conclusion that it didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was that she could destroy.

Just what had become of her?

Morgana realized that she actually didn't exists anymore. Morgana was dead. All that was left was an empty shell full of hatred. Morgana also found that she didn't care. About anything.

She couldn't even feel sad about that fact.

Just as she was about to wrap her slender fingers around her 'father's' neck, the man suddenly disappeared.

Giving a noise of confusion, Morgana spun around, just to see the Uther standing a few feet away from her behind an old man wearing a lab coat, who had his arms spread in front of him in a protective gesture.

"What…Who are you?" Morgana demanded, sensing strange waves coming from the man. It felt as if he wasn't human, but she couldn't exactly tell…

"That's none of your concern. I must apologize, but we'll take our leave now." The old man said and suddenly grabbed Uther's arm, dragging him quickly away into the direction of his office.

Leaving the girl behind, Uther suddenly looked at Gaius and a just barely visible smile found its way onto his features.

"Thank you Gaius. I don't know how you always accomplish it, but you've once again rescued me out of a dangerous situation."

When they were far enough away from Morgana, Gaius stopped to catch his breath. "Don't mention it. It's always a pleasure to help you"

The older man responded with a smile of his own and a crooked eyebrow.

"But shouldn't you call the security forces now?"

Uther seemed puzzled for a second, before regaining his impassive expression.

"Yes, certainly." He said with frown as he pulled out his phone…

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Arthur still hadn't manage to find out anything about Merlin, it was starting to get depressing.

He had made a plan as how to gather information on the raven haired, but it hadn't worked out like planned. He knew the two places in this college that kept the student files.

The first was his father's office and the second was in Gaius' filing cabinet, in case something happened to one of the students and they required higher medical treatment.

First Arthur had went to Gaius' room, since he hadn't been too keen on seeing his father. But Gaius hadn't been there and all files had been securely locked away. Arthur didn't know how to pick a lock, so he had just let it be.

In his father's room, he had had a little more luck. His father also wasn't there, but unlike Gaius, Uther had just locked the file away with a password and since he was his son, it didn't take Arthur long to figure it out. It had been the wedding anniversary of his parents.

But when he had skimmed through the files with the letter 'E' he hadn't found a file with the name Emrys. At first Arthur was sure that he had just missed it but after the third look through he was sure that it wasn't there.

Of course it could be that the file had accidently been placed under another letter, but somehow Arthur couldn't make himself believe that.

It was just too much of an accident, right?

So currently, Arthur was walking back to his room again, the deep frown on his face indicating that he was lost in thought

While he was passing a staircase, the blonde heard voices coming from above him. "-leave it like that."

Arthur recognized the warm voice of Gaius and stopped in his tracks to listen to the conversation, despite feeling a little guilty.

"I know. But it's not in my possibilities to go that far." This was his father speaking, but what really surprised Arthur was the uncertainty in his voice. It was something that just never happened.

"But Uther, you know what-"

"No." Uther interrupted Gaius, this time his voice sounding harsher again. "You know how I think about that matter, but you also now I can't do it."

Gaius seemed to sigh and he started to speak more quietly now, almost unable for Arthur to hear.

"You're right. But remember what stood in that letter. Don't forget about _them_."

Suddenly, footsteps echoed through the hallway and Arthur realized with shock that his father and Gaius were coming down the stairs. Quickly, he rounded a corner and leaned at the wall, trying to order the thoughts in his mind.

He had already completely forgotten about that ominous letter Gaius had sent to his father. But now it somehow seemed to fit in.

He had had to deliver this letter right after he had met Merlin for the first time and it had already back then seemed like this letter was really important. And now there were the missing of Merlin's files.

Could this somehow be connected?

Or was he just connecting dots that didn't really had to do with anything?

Arthur frowned while driving his hand through his blond hair in order to clear his thoughts.

No, this couldn't be as much as a coincidence... Something secret was going on here. Something he wasn't supposed to know about.

Maybe his father had hired a secret bodyguard for him? It would make sense, since Morgana was getting more and more of a threat now. But Merlin wasn't exactly what you would think of as a bodyguard.

With a growl of frustration, Arthur's fist hit the wall, making his knuckles sting a bit.

"Damn it. I'm not getting any closer to solving this…" He pressed out between gritted teeth. "Maybe I should just forget it…"

Arthur started to walk to his room, doubts nagging at his mind.

Could he just forget it? Could he ever look Gaius or Merlin in the eye again? Could he look into the mirror, knowing that he had no clue what was going on and that he was too stupid to figure it out? Maybe Gwen would have known what to do, but their relationship was still unclear, so he couldn't just walk up to her and talk about it…

Lost in thought, Arthur didn't notice that his door wasn't locked when he entered his room.

He just let himself fall onto the bed and buried his face in his soft white pillows. He didn't know what to do… That was unusual and it was making him frustrated…

With a sigh, he reached over to his nightstand and grabbed a glass of water, gulping it down in an instant. Arthur lazily put the glass away again and closed his eyes.

Maybe everything would be clearer after a little nap.

…

…

When the blonde awoke again after just a few minutes of troubled sleep, he felt a little strange. It was unnaturally hot in here, not as hot as it was supposed to be in May. Maybe there was a fire somewhere?

Getting nervous, Arthur suddenly climbed out of bed and almost immediately fell back onto it again. "W-whoa…"

His vision was blurry and the room was constantly shifting before his eyes.

Something was definitely wrong…

But the blonde just couldn't focus on anything, all his mind was proceeding was: Hot. Burning. Fire. Shit.

Again, he tried to get up from where he was half lying on the bed, this time a little slower. He moved his hands to the wall and slowly pulled himself up, leaning against it for support.

He wanted to get out of this burning room as soon as possible but while he stared at the door it seemed to move farther away with every second that passed.

What the hell?

Arthur took a wobbly step forward, not letting go of the secure grip on the wall. It was just getting hotter in his room with every second and it soon was unbearable. Sweat ran down his face like tears and he soon was drenched in it.

After a few minutes of disorientation, Arthur came to the conclusion that his room wasn't burning. It was more like he himself was.

A trembling hand that must be his own, suddenly touched his forehead and immediately flinched away again. High fever. _Very_ high fever.

"Bad…" He mumbled a little unintelligible while trying hard not to fall onto the ground. Eventually, Arthur reached the door of his room, the door handle was just a few inches away from his fingers but it seemed to fly around him in circle always avoiding the grabbing motion of his shaking hand.

"N-no…" Arthur whispered and he suddenly felt himself flying. Or maybe the room was flying around him?

He didn't know, all he knew was that his eyes slowly closed as the flames consumed him…

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Merlin was actually quite proud of himself. He had improved their presentation quite a bit and wondered how Arthur would react to it. When he stood in front of his friend's room, a strange feeling rolled around in his gut.

It screamed danger and Merlin started to get wary. He almost was about to burst into the room, but decided otherwise and rose his hand to knock at the door.

When he got no reaction to his knocking, he knocked again, this time with more force. "Arthur?" He raised his voice, narrowed eyes staring at the door.

He was met with silence and panic started to form a tight knot in his chest. But Merlin shook his head, trying to clear his mind. It could very well be that Arthur simply wasn't in his room. Or maybe he was sleeping.

But of course, it never was simple.

With slightly shaking hands, Merlin opened the door, surprised to not find it locked. Arthur always locked his door whenever he was sleeping or out.

The angel instantly swung the door open, revealing a picture of horror and he felt his wings trashing around, wanting to burst through his back.

In front of him lay Arthur, on the ground. As pale as death, covered in sweat. He was trembling like leaves and every few seconds a groan escaped his shivering lips.

In the fraction of a second, Merlin was at the side of his protégé, the door shut behind them. He gently laid a hand to Arthur's forehead and flinched away by the second he touched. It felt like he was literally on fire. This wasn't good…

"Arthur, wake up!" The raven haired demanded while he shook Arthur, gentle yet unforgiving if the blonde wouldn't follow his order. After a few shakes, his eyes fluttered open, the steel blue color clouded by pain.

"M'lin… Anks…G'night…Rother…'s okay… Meet…ya…'n…ven…" The words left Arthur's lips and a small smile appeared on his pale face. He then sighed in an annoyed manner and closed his eyes, the smile slowly fading away, leaving nothing behind.

Merlin's pseudo cerulean eyes suddenly widened when Arthur went still.

He held his breath, waiting for Arthur to start shaking and groaning again, but the blond stayed still. Deadly still.

Merlin let out a shaking breath, hands trembling and tears threatening to fall. "N-no… T-this can't…"

He slowly laid a hand on Arthur's chest.

Waiting.

Waiting for something that didn't come.

Something so small yet the whole purpose for his existence.

Something that was forever gone.

Suddenly, Merlin couldn't think.

He barely noticed his wings cutting through his shirt, curling around Arthur as if to protect him.

He barely noticed his own voice, screaming and yelling for Arthur to wake up again.

He barely noticed the hot salty tears streaming down his face and dripping onto Arthur's.

He barely noticed his fists beating onto his protégé's chest in an attempt to somehow get his heart to move.

He barely noticed the snapping feeling inside his chest.

He barely noticed how something in him awakened.

All he noticed, was that Arthur was dead.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

* * *

**A/N:** Well, yeah. That's the end of this chapter. But don't worry, everything is going to be all right in the end :D

Since many of you requested it, I'm going to add some Whump!Merlin to this story! Yay :D

Alright then, please leave a review if you want Arthur to not be dead. If you don't care, please leave a review nevertheless :)

Until next time ~

**by DarkChain**


	11. Fighting Angel

.

**A/N: **Thank you very very much for your continued support! Here's the chapter you've been waiting for :) No whump yet, but in the next there will be _lots ;) _

Read and enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Owning Merlin is not something I can do.

* * *

**CHAPTER 11: FIGHTING ANGEL**

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

_White. It's all white… _

_What's that…? Snow…?_

_No, it's not snow… Snow is cold…_

_This is warm… Is it the sun…? Could be…_

_But why would I be so close to the sun…?_

_So it's not the sun… Just where am I..? _

_Thinking is so hard, like on the edge of sleep…_

_But I'm afraid to go to sleep, sleep is cold…_

_I want to be awake, but I don't even know whether my eyes are open or not…_

_Usually, my eyes feel heavy when I'm tired but right now…_

_I don't feel anything._

_I'm all alone, I'm scared and confused…_

_No, wait… I'm not… There's someone here… _

_A dark figure, black against the white… It's stepping closer…_

_I'd like to smile and run towards it, but I can't move…_

_Their face is hidden in the shadows, but I can see that they are wearing strange clothes…_

_A dress? Must be a woman then… Could be…_

_No, this one's male…. So a tunic then?_

_It's white, but a different one than my surroundings…_

_This white is like the clouds of the sky, with silver linings and blue sparkles…_

_The person isn't far away anymore, anything besides the eyes are visible…_

_A mop of black hair, big ears and a grin on pale lips…_

_I know him… He's important… He's warm and comforting…_

_But why can't I see his eyes? They are hidden in the shadows…_

_The man was now standing directly in front of me, his grin widening._

_He slowly raised his arms, slender fingers spread wide._

_Like in slow motion, his hands shoot forward to my chest, hitting me hard and sending a shock through my whole body._

_This is becoming strange…_

_I can feel again… I feel pain…and heat…_

_The man hits me on the chest again, this time even harder…_

_I feel like my heart is about to explode and I slowly fall to the ground…_

_The raven haired man is standing above me and I can finally see his eyes._

_They shine in a bright golden color, lightening up the whole room…_

_So familiar yet so unreal…_

_Merlin?_

…

"Merlin!"

Gaius called out to the younger angel, who was kneeling next to Arthur, crying and screaming his heart out.

"Merlin, you have to calm down!" Gaius said, loud but gentle. He could understand how he must feel, but now was not the time to panic. As quickly as his old legs would let him, Gaius closed the door to Arthur's room behind them and hurried to Merlin's side, gently laying a hand on the trembling angel's shoulder.

"A-arthu-ur… N-no…" The boy was stuttering, staring at his protégé's face with a blank look in his eyes. "M-y fault… I… I f-failed…"

Merlin's mind was completely blank, all he knew was that his chest started to feel numb… And there was a soft touch on his shoulder. The raven haired slowly turned around. He was facing Gaius, but his eyes weren't looking at him.

"Pull yourself together, Merlin. There is still a way to rescue Arthur, but you need to calm down." The old man explained slowly, as if he were speaking to a child.

Merlin's eyes widened almost comically and now they were really meeting Gaius', gaining strength from the older man's determined look. "H-how?" He asked, his grip tightening around his protégé's shirt.

A small smile was finding its way onto Gaius lips as he saw the little spark of hope glistening in the boy's eyes.

"First, lay both of your hands onto Arthur's chest." Gaius explained to Merlin, who just nodded and did as he was told.

"Now, when I say go, you unleash your powers and push them straight into Arthur's chest."

The younger angel furrowed his brow and looked at the older one skeptically.

"Trust me. I'm a doctor and an angel, remember?" Gaius said reassuringly and watched with satisfaction as Merlin finally nodded, determination clear in the raven haired's eyes. "Alright, let's do this."

Gaius removed his hand from Merlin's shoulder and instead laid it onto Arthur's forehead. He closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to find Arthur's consciousness. Suddenly, the old man's hand started glowing in a green light, throwing distorted shadows on the walls.

"Now, Merlin. Don't hesitate!"

Merlin closed his eyes and unleashed his powers, he felt them streaming through his hands and the electric tension between them was almost visible. He saved them up in his hands for a moment, before letting them go again and he felt his powers hitting Arthur's chest, making the body shake a little under his hands.

If this wasn't going to work… No, he shouldn't think about it. He had to have faith in Gaius and himself, and in Arthur too. He would wake up again, no matter what! Arthur would fight, he wouldn't give up so easily. His destiny wasn't fulfilled yet, hell, Merlin wasn't even here for a month, there was no way that this would end so soon!

"One more time!" Gaius voice echoed through the room.

Merlin gathered his power in his hands again, mixing in all of his emotions.

When he released his powers for the second time the shake he got from Arthur was even heavier and he felt the skin on his fingertips rip open.

How strange, that had never happened before, no matter how many times he had used a great amount of power…

Suddenly, it felt like something in Merlin's chest was snapping back into place and a smile so huge that it hurt his cheeks appeared on his face when he heard it.

Arthur's heartbeat. It was back.

_He_ was back.

"Gaius! It worked! We did it!" Merlin screamed excitedly, getting up from where he was kneeling and throwing his arms around the old man. "Thank you so much!"

Gaius was startled for a second, but then he laid his arms around the younger one and pulled him close, a soft smile on his lips. "Don't thank me, you almost did it alone."

Merlin just shook his head when he let go of Gaius again. "You say almost but without you, I wouldn't even know _what_ to do."

Gaius just shook his head while he got up and looked down at Arthur, who looked like he was just sleeping, a peaceful look on his face.

"We should probably get him off of the floor and into his bed." Gaius suggested and Merlin nodded, hoisting his protégé up and half carrying, half dragging him to the bed and onto it. With a soft smile, the young angel pulled the covers over Arthur and brushed a few strands of golden hair out of his face.

His forehead was still really hot…

"He's got a fever…" Merlin mumbled, his eyes narrowed. What exactly had happened to Arthur? He had been all healthy and fine this morning. Suddenly, Merlin noticed an empty glass standing on the night stand. He picked it up and silently examined it. Something about it seemed off…

"Gaius, I think Arthur was poisoned…" Merlin pressed out between gritted teeth, anger rising up in him. He really was a lousy guardian angel if he didn't even managed to protect his protégé from being poisoned! He really had to be more careful and Merlin vowed to himself to never leave Arthur's side again expect at night. Maybe he could go and ask Uther to let him have a room next to Arthur's…

"This is actually very likely" Gaius pondered with furrowed eye brows. "I am going to examine that and bring something for Arthur's fever. You stay here with him." Gaius ordered and took the glass out of Merlin's hand.

"Oh, and you should hide your wings, in case he wakes up." Gaius said with cocky amile and left the room.

"So much to being careful from now on…" Merlin muttered to himself, a slight blush of embarrassment on his face.

A few seconds later, Merlin's wings had vanished and he was wearing a new shirt. He walked over, sat himself on the edge of Arthur's bed and sighed. He slowly grabbed one of Arthur's hand and held it in his own. He was still too cold…

"I'm sorry Arthur… I'm not doing my job well, am I?" He whispered, lowering his eyes to the ground as if he could avoid looking into Arthur's eyes, but they weren't even open so there was nothing to avoid.

"But from now on, I'm going to do better, no more mistakes! I promise!"

"Just what are you talking about, mate?"

Merlin looked up in surprise, pseudo blue eyes the size of plates. Right there in the doorway, the whole fencing team plus Gwen were standing, looking at him and Arthur with soft smiles. How couldn't he have noticed them?!

"H-how long have you all been standing there?!" He spluttered out in shock, immediately letting go of Arthur's hand. Merlin felt his face heating up under the mischievous grin of the brunette.

"Oh, just since 'I'm sorry Arthur', so no worries." Gwaine said with a grin and waved his hand dismissively.

"We heard Arthur is sick?" Leon asked, looking at the pale form lying on the bed. When he saw the confused look in the raven haired's face, he added with a softer expression "Gaius told us."

Merlin juts nodded, gesturing for the others to fully come in and sit down. "Yeah, I found him unconscious on the floor a little while ago. He seems to have a nasty fever, so Gaius is getting something against it." Merlin explained, his eyes once again resting on his protégé. Was he really going to be alright?

"Oh Arthur…" Gwen whispered, tears threatening to fall from her hazel eyes as she scurried over to Arthur. She immediately grabbed the hand Merlin had let go and leaned over the blonde. "I'm forgiving you, just get better, alright?"

Gwen was rewarded with a few soft smiles at this, and soon everyone was sitting around in Arthur's room, just waiting for Arthur to wake up.

"But it's strange, isn't it?" Lance suddenly said, while he was staring at the ceiling from where he was sitting.

"What do you mean?" Elyan asked, quirking his eyebrow at the brunette.

"Arthur was perfectly fine this morning and now he looks like death warmed up…" Lancelot explained, a deep frown on his face.

"Now that you mention it, it really _is_ strange…" Percival commented and soon six pairs of eyes were looking at Merlin, who felt a little bit uncomfortable with all the attention him.

"I-I don't know, I just found him like this, okay?" He said, seemingly a little too defensive. Everyone nodded, but the frowns hadn't vanished from their face. They all knew that something must have happened. Something unusual.

"Maybe it was Morgana." Gwen suddenly said, earning surprised looks from everyone. Well, everyone except Merlin.

"Huh? How could she give Arthur a fever?" Gwaine asked, looking confused at the sweaty forehead of the blonde, who seemed to toss and turn in his sleep.

"I don't know…" Gwen admitted and didn't let go of Arthur's hand for a second. "But it wouldn't be the first time she pulled off something like this"

Elyan nodded in agreement. "That's true, remember the one time when she-"He was interrupted midsentence by the unexpected opening of the door.

Gaius slid through the door, looking at Arthur first, with a frown, then turning to Merlin with a soft smile. "Do you have second?" He asked, but his eyes told much more. "Oh, and here's something against Arthur's fever. Give it to him when he wakes up." Gaius added and handed Gwen a small package.

Merlin stood up from the edge of his protégé and walked over to Gaius, noticing the intense stares on his back from the others. They sure must be wondering what was going on and how much Merlin knew.

When Merlin stood in the hallway with Gaius, he instantly noticed the glass in the old man's lab coat pocket. Noticing the younger ones glance, Gaius quickly pulled the glass out of the pocket and held it up in front of his face.

"I analyzed this." He started and threw Merlin a serious look. "And I found traces of a highly concentrated Belladonna serum."

Merlin's eyes widened as realization dawned. So Arthur really had been poisoned!

"Belladonna? That's Deadly Nightshade, right?" Merlin asked, eyeing the glass closely. "Everyone would have been able to put that in there…"

Gaius sighed and looked at the ground, then up at the raven haired with a sad expression. "That's true, but I believe it was Morgana. I saw her in front of Arthur's room while she was trying to strangle Uther."

Merlin frowned, his pseudo blue eyes darkening. "Wait. You saw her standing in front of Arthur's room with murderous intent? Why didn't you do anything?!" Merlin said, his voice wasn't loud but it was strong and his anger was clearly visible.

Gaius looked him in the eyes, not trying to avoid them. "I know, it's my fault. I should have been more careful. I'm terribly sorry."

Merlin sighed, rather annoyed, but then he looked at the older man with a soft expression, the tiniest of smiles on his lips. "You don't have to apologize, it's as much my fault as it is yours. I should've been more carful as well. From now on I will be."

He was determined to stop Morgana from hurting Arthur. She would never so much as lay a finger on Arthur, he would make sure of that. And not just because it was his job. He did it because he liked Arthur. It seemed his protégé had also gotten his best friend. He could never forgive himself if something should happen to Arthur.

Merlin suddenly sensed a dark presence, moving somewhere outside the college. Anger started to build up in him instantly, tightening his chest and blurring his vision. Normally, as being an angel, he was calm and avoided fighting at any cost. But now, his protective instincts took over and he wanted to eliminate the possible threat.

"Gaius, I have to go." The angel pressed out between gritted teeth, suddenly running through the hallway, already feeling the blue contact lenses in his eyes starting to melt, letting the gleaming gold shine through.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Merlin was running through dark empty streets, his senses sharpened and his hands balled into fists. Morgana wasn't getting away with that! He had hurt Arthur multiple times and today she had almost killed him! It wasn't enough to protect Arthur, he also had to get rid of everything that could mean danger in the future.

Merlin tried to concentrate on the presence, but it seemed to move farther away from him, even though he was running at quite a speed. Maybe he should risk flying? It would definitely be faster, but he could be seen by someone…

When Merlin came to a crossing, he slowed down and stopped. He couldn't feel the presence anymore, so where should he go now? He could go back to the college, maybe Morgana would actually be there, or he could wander the city and search for her presence.

The raven haired narrowed his eyes and groaned in frustration. He was so useless, he couldn't even manage to find one of the three fallen angels in this city.

Trying to release his anger, Merlin punched a nearby wall, surprised to see it actually crack under his knuckles. What the hell?! He didn't use his powers and he certainly hadn't any remarkable physical strength. So how had this just happened?

While slowly removing his fist from the wall, Merlin stepped a few steps back and stared at the wall. There were some huge cracks which were spreading through multiple bricks and the stone started to crumble.

With a frown, Merlin looked at his hand and suddenly remembered how the skin on his fingertips had been torn apart earlier. And now this… Just what was happening with him?

The young angel just shook his head, deciding that there were more important matters at hand, such as searching for Morgana. He decided to go back to the college first, because he honestly didn't know where else to start.

With a sigh and a mental cursing of his life, Merlin put new contacts in, tucked his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and headed to the college.

…

…

A few minutes later he was walking around in the college, waiting for a presence to enter his mind, but there was no trace of a fallen angel. Merlin was already heading towards his room so he could go to sleep, but before he had noticed it, he found himself standing in front of Arthur's room.

Slightly hesitant, Merlin pulled down the door handle, surprised to find the door unlocked. He quietly entered and closed the door behind him. To his delight, Arthur was awake, sitting in his band and staring out of the window at the moon.

"Don't you know how to knock, _Mer_lin?" The blonde teased, but he seemed to be far away with his thoughts. Merlin smiled softly, just happy to see his friend awake again.

The raven haired slowly walked up to Arthur, sitting down on the bed beside him. "How are you feeling?" He asked, concern lingering in his voice

Arthur just shrugged, still staring out of the window. "I had worse." Finally, he turned his head and looked at Merlin, his eyes clear and piercing. Suddenly, his shoulders slumped down and his lips started to tremble just the slightest bit.

"M-merlin, I think I d-died. But I'm alive now, r-right?" He asked, his voice sounding hoarse and his words revealing his uncertainty.

Merlin quickly wrapped his arms around Arthur, rubbing soothing circles on his back. "It's alright now, I'll never let you die, I promise."

Arthur chuckled. It was a weak, but sincere chuckle. "Somehow, I can't help but believe you."

Merlin then pulled away again, a glance at Arthur telling him that he was fine. His blue eyes shone bright and a smile was on his lips. Merlin answered with a grin of his own. Arthur was alive. Everything was fine. He wouldn't die. Merlin was telling himself this things over and over again, while he was just taking in every detail of his protégé's features.

He wondered who had been more scared. Arthur, or himself?

"Merlin" Arthur suddenly said, the smile had vanished completely, instead replaced by a frown. "May I ask you something?"

Merlin tilted his head in confusion. "Uh, yeah, I guess."

The blonde gulped, then he looked at the ground for a moment, before gazing up at Merlin again. "Who are you?"

First, Merlin was startled. What kind of question what that? What expected Arthur to answer him to that?

Then came the panic. Tightening his chest into a knot, burning his throat and drying out his mouth. Arthur couldn't possibly know, could he? There was no way; he was just being paranoid again.

After a few moments of inner panicking, Merlin draw a deep breath and calmed himself. He knew what to do and how far to go.

With a crooked smile, Merlin looked out of the window at the moon and then back at Arthur, who was staring at him, expectantly waiting for an answer.

"I'm here for your protection. Nothing more, nothing less."

Arthur's jaw dropped open and Merlin could see that there were only more questions lying on Arthur's tongue, so he added: "Don't ask, I cannot tell you anything else."

Arthur groaned in frustration, confusion written all over his face. "Whatever…" He huffed, arms crossed in front of his chest and a dark frown on his face.

Suddenly, a dark presence tickled on the edge of Merlin's consciousness. Finally, Morgana must be just behind the college grounds!

"I'm sorry, I have to go." Merlin exclaimed, quickly getting up, not before patting Arthur on the shoulder once more. "You should rest. Oh, and take your medicine." He added while walking over to the door.

"But it's disgusting!" Arthur complained, watching as hid friend opened the door. He didn't want Merlin to leave just yet, he had just come!

"I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep well!" Merlin said with a grin, but there was some kind of grim determination glimmering in his cerulean eyes.

"Wait, Merlin! Where are you-"Arthur stopped midsentence as the door was closed.

The blonde just sighed and shook his head, cursing this stupid secretiveness. It seemed like he once again had to go and search for clues on his own.

Arthur looked out of the window, gazing at the blinding white light of the full moon. He remembered, only vague, that he had seen Merlin in a white light while he had been unconscious. No, he had been dead. It just…had felt like that. He couldn't quite understand it as it was, but he was sure he had died for a moment, even if it had only been for a second.

So that meant someone must have revived him, yet nobody had said anything about it. But Gwen had told him that Merlin was the one who found him. This timing was actually supernaturalIt was another strange aspect about the raven haired, but then again it seemed to fit perfectly into the picture.

Arthur smiled as he thought about the girl he loved. He was unbelievably relieved that Gwen wasn't angry at him anymore, he had even gotten a kiss from her when he had woken up earlier. She was just so kind hearted; Arthur still couldn't understand how he deserved someone like Gwen.

He really loved her and he was sure, no matter what would happen between them, he would always love her and stay by her side.

That was when he realized that he would also always stay by Merlin's side, no matter who he was or what he did.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Merlin once again ran through an empty street, the second time already. What was it with dark and empty streets and danger? The presence was coming nearer with every step he took and Merlin mentally prepared himself for whatever would come when he rounded the next corner.

What he sure as hell didn't expect, was to find Morgause sitting on the ground cross-legged with two swords lying next to her, shining in the moonlight, their deadly sharpness was almost visible.

"_You came, Merlin." _ The raven haired heard the fallen angel's voice inside his head and the woman's cold eyes stared right into him. Unlike the last time, there was no flirtatious and joking glint in them, but instead a deadly sharpness.

"_What do you want, Morgause?"_ He asked, as well in his mind. Merlin eyed the swords somewhat warily and he already gathered his power in his hands, ready to be released any time.

"_I'm here to fight you. You've proven yourself a big nuisance." _ Her voice radiated in his head and Merlin sensed that she was serious. So it would be a fight with Morgause instead of Morgana. But that was just fine, he had to get rid of all of them sooner or later.

"_So have you. I'm not fond of violence, but there is no other way." _He threatened, wings suddenly breaking through his back, slicing his hoody open.

Merlin watched the blonde woman nod and in a split second she was standing, black wings swirling out of her back and she took one sword in each of her hand.

"_Prepare yourself!" _Her voice screamed in his head and the angel felt a headache starting to grow. Her cold eyes burned with passion as Morgause unleashed her dark powers, setting part of the alley on fire. Her blond locks flew through the air behind her when she rushed at Merlin, swords aiming at his snow white wings.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

* * *

**A/N:** Man, what a chapter, huh? Next there will be an epic fight with _lots _of whump, I can promise that much ;) I hope you liked it, a review would be nice :)

Until next time~

**by DarkChain**


	12. Hurting Angel

**A/N:**Sorry for the relatively late update, but this was one hell of a busy week. AND I'm finally fifteen years old:D Yay! So, here's the promised whump! I hope it's enough for you ;)

Read and enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Merlin. BBC does.

* * *

**CHAPTER 12: HURTING ANGEL**

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

_She couldn't understand. It just didn't make any sense to her. Why would he do such a thing? Didn't they have a good life together? They had always laughed so much and just a few hours ago he had smiled at her and had told her how much she meant to him and that they would always stay together._

_But now he was dead! How could he leave her behind like this? How could he make a decision like that?!_

_Morgause couldn't stop a salty tear from rolling down her pale cheek. The room was dark and the air seemed to be thick, as if it didn't fit through her throat. She felt like drowning in this horrible darkness._

_It was warm in here, unlike a comforting warm, this was downright burning. The walls seemed to move closer towards her, keeping her locked in in this hell hole._

_But that wasn't the worst, neither was the cullet on the ground, cutting her bare feet open and painting the black floor in shining red, nor the flickering light bulb which caste dancing shadows onto the wall._

_In the middle of the room was lying a turned over wooden chair, just inches above it were dangling a pair of feet in black boots. Those feet were connected to a pair of slim legs, wearing a dark pair of jeans in which a shining white shirt was tucked, covering a muscly chest. Two arms were limply hanging at the side of the body, dried blood sticking to them._

_But the worst was his face._

_Pale, blank, empty._

_Rounded by red hair, as bright as flames, making it just seem even paler. A pair of soft green eyes stared blankly into space, void of any life or emotion._

_A pair of lips slightly parted, as if he was still breathing. But he wasn't because there was a tight rope around his neck, preventing him from ever getting to fill his lungs with air again._

_Morgause ran towards her beloved, ignoring the pain coming from her bare feet. Her golden eyes wavered, tears blurring her vision. A desperate scream escaped her lips as she grabbed the dead man's hands, squeezing them as if he was able to feel the touch._

"_No! Devin, wake up! How can you do this to me!? Please god, no! Not him!" She begged, her voice breaking as she sunk to her knees. "I was supposed to protect him… I failed…" She sobbed gripping her blond locks in frustration, her snow white wings folded on her back in defeat._

"_No." She suddenly said, her voice cold and hard, eyes filled with anger and hatred. "It's not my fault. It's this human's! It is solely Uther's fault! He drove my beloved Devin to commit suicide, therefore I shall get my revenge." The blonde woman muttered, already sensing the presence of other angel's closing in on her._

_Would they convict her? Rip out her wings?_

_She sure as hell wouldn't let them._

_Just as Morgause readied herself for what was to come now, a group of five angels burst through the door and windows, circling her with weapons pointed at her. Two had guns, one a sword, the other two only their raised arms. _

_The one with the sword cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Morgause le Fay. The angel council hereby accuses you of neglecting your duties as guardian angel towards your protégé, Devin Jonson. If you would calmly accompany us to the angel court now, we can assure you that you will get a fair trial and the chance to justify your actions." _

_The blond woman gritted her teeth and unfolded her wings, ready to fight her way out if necessary. "I am not going with you! And this is not my fault!" She pressed out and narrowed her eyes._

_The man with the sword let out an annoyed sigh, as if he was used to this kind of behavior. "Of course it's not. Just come with us as a testimony in this case, alright?"_

_Morgause shook her head in panic; blonde, tangled locks swirling through the air. "Liar! I'm not going with you, leave me alone! It's not my fault!" Her words were clear but her wavering voice betrayed her. She knew it was her fault and that she should be punished._

_But Morgause always used to be a little selfish, so she wasn't giving up that attitude now._

_In a split second, she managed unarm the youngest one of the angel's, the seemingly weakest. She quickly snatched the golden gun away from him and directed it at the head of her hostage._

"_One wrong move" The blonde threatened and released the safety "And this boy will join him." She nodded her heads towards the corpse of her protégé dangling from the ceiling._

_The other angels instantly froze, looks of uncertainty and fear for the life of their companion in their eyes._

"_If you dare killing him, you will become a fallen angel!" The one with the sword spoke up again, part as a warning, part to frighten Morgause._

_But the woman's eyes just widened and something dawned on her. What did she learn about fallen angels?_

_They lost all their emotions but hatred and were banned from heaven for eternity, yes. But they also gained incredible powers and couldn't be killed be anyone but an archangel._

_That suddenly didn't seem that bad to her. If she got that power, she would be able to avenge Devin and maybe she could do even more?_

_Maybe she could…take over heaven? Now that was wish thinking but maybe, just maybe…it was possible?_

_Morgause had the faint feeling that this was her fate, as if she was destined to do this._

_Suddenly, her trembling stopped, she relaxed and took a deep breath. Everything around her seemed to slow down, her eyes resting only on the cold dead face of her beloved. Yes, this was right._

_The right thing to do. The only option left._

_With a distant smile, she pulled the trigger. _

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Morgause's moves were furious, her swords lashing out at him with incredible speed, but her face was calm and distant. There was no playful smirk on her lips and no fire in her eyes, there was only darkness. A kind of coldness that was only seen in people who had nothing to lose anymore.

Merlin would have almost pitied her if he wasn't too occupied with avoiding her strikes.

He had no weapons himself, so he couldn't parry her swings and had instead to focus on only dashing away from the deadly metal.

In a short moment of safety, Merlin raised his hand and immediately a lightning struck into one of Morgause's swords, sending an electric shock through her body, making her hair stand up.

She growled at this and threw the crackling sword into his direction. Out of reflex, the raven haired reached out to catch it and as soon as the hilt made impact with his hand, an electric wave shook his body.

It felt like he was burning from the inside and Merlin suddenly found himself unable to move, he had been paralyzed. He couldn't catch anything to save his life and now he had just caught a charged sword without even wanting to?!

Unable to get away, Merlin watched warily as Morgause stepped closer to him. She stopped just a few feet away from him and watched as his body shook, the ends of his dark strands starting to smell like burned cloth.

"Does it hurt?" She asked, no emotion in her voice, just something that loosely resembled interest.

He used all his power to just shake his head and spat at her feet in return. Merlin immediately regretted his cocky acting when a fist connected with his jaw, freeing him from his paralysis but therefore making him stumble to the ground.

His vision was blurred for a second and his jaw made an awful crunching noise. Merlin hissed in pain and scrambled away from the fallen angel, trying to at least get his vision straight again.

After blinking a few times, he looked up into the face of Morgause as she suddenly lunged forward and gripped his left wings, stabbing it with her sword.

A pained cry escaped his lips and Merlin closed his eyes, tears pricking at them. When he opened them again, he saw blood staining his snow white wing and it made him want to vomit.

The pain was almost unbearable, it couldn't possibly get any worse, or at least that's what he had thought until Morgause suddenly twisted her sword around. He cried out again, so loud it hurt in his own ears.

"S-stop…" he mumbled weakly, but the fallen angel didn't do as much as glance at him. It was as if she was just doing her work, like a machine.

When almost his whole left wing was covered in blood, Morgause reached down and gripped one of his now red feathers with both of her hands, before pulling at it, ripping it out of him.

Merlin hissed, no longer willing to just stay lying here, miserable like this. He had to do something, he had to get Morgause of off him. Or else…

Before he could think of some kind of plan, Morgause ripped out several feathers at once, making his mind go fuzzy with pain for a second.

"I said stop!" He screamed in despair and suddenly Morgause was standing several feet away from him, eyes wide with shock.

What had happened? Morgause's eyes were filled with confusion and fear, piercing right through him.

Merlin frowned. He hadn't done anything, he just had screamed for her to stop, and now she was staring at him as if he had transformed into some kind of monster.

When he was about to just ask her about it, the raven haired noticed something. His wing still hurt, but it felt like a different kind of pain. It was not the piercing sensation of metal stabbing it, more like a numb burning.

Slowly, the young angel turned his head, golden eyes widening at what they saw.

The sword wasn't stuck in his wing anymore. It lay on the blood covered ground, broken into two parts. "How did this happen…?" Merlin mumbled, frowning even harder. That couldn't have been his doing, now could it?

That was just unthinkable, he hadn't even directed his powers towards the sword. And even then, why was Morgause so shocked now?

Merlin directed his attention at the fallen angel again, the blonde woman staring at him with a stoic mask, but her shaking hands betrayed her nervousness.

"This fight isn't over yet." Merlin said calmly (not that he was, but he had always been a good actor) while he pulled himself up and gripped the brick wall for support.

Meanwhile, Morgause had regained her composure and had directed her still intact sword at Merlin, ready to slice him up. While steadying himself at the wall, Merlin reached down and gripped the hilt of one of the sword halves. It may be better than nothing.

Within an instant, Morgause was striking down at him, her sword clashing of his half, sending sparks through the air. Soon the alley was filled with the sound of clashing metal as the fallen and the guardian angel exchanged blows.

Merlin wasn't a real swordsman, so he soon found himself cornered. Morgause was attacking merciless and his arms started to get heavy. In a moment of abstraction, the blonde woman managed to unarm the raven haired, his sword half flying through the air and landing in the far corner of the alley with a clattering sound.

Merlin gulped and backed away from Morgause, having lost his weapon he was at disadvantage. He raised his hand in order to throw a fire ball at her, but Morgause was quicker. With a growl, she dashed around the fireball and towards him, her sword stabbing his leg.

Merlin cried out in pain and grabbed the bleeding wound, trying and failing to prevent further blood loss. Everything swam before his eyes and Merlin didn't even notice himself falling down, he just remembered suddenly lying in the floor, pressing down on his wound.

The pain was sharp and didn't stop, numbing all his senses and slowing down his mind. Merlin tried to keep his eyes open, but all he saw was red and he almost couldn't help himself from vomiting. Panic was tightening his chest and made breathing hard. His wings had returned to his back, trying to stop the precious blood from leaving his body, but the raven haired felt his back bleeding, soaking his already torn hoody.

A whimper escaped his lips when suddenly something connected with his side and Merlin could have sworn he heard something crack. Every breath felt like inhaling fire and Merlin curled up, trying to protect his vital zones as more and more strikes rained down on him.

"Open your wings, I have to rip them out!" He heard Morgause scream, her voice containing a slightly crazed undertone. A chill went down his spine at her words and Merlin started to grow desperate. She would definitely kill him, and then Arthur would be all alone and without protection. Maybe he should have told his protégé about him? Maybe he should have just damned the consequences?

Maybe it was too late now. Maybe he really was a useless guardian angel, getting killed in a dark alley and leaving his protégé and best friend behind with three fallen angels around him.

_Maybe it's not too late yet._

Merlin opened his eyes, vision as clear as never before. The pain was unbearable and was trying to pull him into the oblivion of unconsciousness, but there was a small part in his mind that kept him awake. It was almost like a voice, shouting at him to get up and going now.

_Which is the right way? No use pondering about it, just try out and go._

And the voice was right, he couldn't give up like this. He had to fight back.

All in one fluent motion, Merlin raised his arms, watched as Morgause stumbled backwards, stood up from the ground, steadied himself at the wall, opened his wings and raised his arms.

_Nothing is impossible._

As if someone else controlled him, Merlin directed his raised hands at the blonde woman, he stared at him in horror. His face was blank and Merlin was in some kind of trance, not even noticing his injuries anymore.

_Driven by a purpose, greater than just living._

His pale lips parted, breathing out hot air, before mumbling constellations of words he had never heard, yet seemed to know as well like his own name:

"Oh, thou who brandished the darkness in their impure hands, risen from the ashes of righteousness. I shall with the power given to me by palingenesis ban thee from the domicile of those under our heavenly protection. I summon the gate to lead all evil astray. Begone!"

While being confused by his own actions, Merlin watched as suddenly a red glowing circle appeared around Morgause feet. Her face fell and she paled, struggling to escape from the glowing circle, but her feet seemed stuck to the ground.

With a desperate cry she trashed around, her black wings brushing the brick walls of the alley. Her eyes were as wide open as possible, rolling around in panic, as if they would spot a way to escape.

"What have you done?!" She screamed in rage, throwing her sword at Merlin, but it seemed to stop midair and landed directly at Morgause feet.

Suddenly her knees gave out and she sank to the ground, wrapping her arms around her shaking knees, slightly crazed eyes staring at the raven haired with an emotion he had never seen in them before, he couldn't quite tell what it was.

"What are you?" She asked, her voice barely a broken whisper.

Merlin was taken aback for a moment. He didn't even know himself at the moment. These words he had said… What were they and how did he know them?

That wasn't something a mere guardian angel was supposed to do.

Merlin frowned, his injuries forgotten at the moment. He couldn't quite grasp what was happening to Morgause, he didn't even know what that red circle meant.

Before he could do or think anything else, a bloodcurdling scream cut through the air. Tears were running down her cheeks while she seemed to be sinking into the pavement, which was glowing red like burning flames.

"Stop it! Stop it!" She screamed, her fingernails scrapping over the pavement, trying to get a hold of it but just resulting in hurting herself.

Merlin looked at the scene in front of him with horror. Just what had he done?! How could he stop it?!

_Do you even want to stop it?_

There was that strange voice in his head again.

His mind went clouded and his vision blurry, Morgause desperate screams sounded muted in his ears.

Merlin tried to keep standing, his whole body shaking like dry leaves. He tried to concentrate on what was happing to Morgause, but he felt so utterly tired. His heavy eyelids suddenly dropped, just for a second, but when Merlin forced them open again, the circle had vanished.

Together with Morgause.

"W-where is she..?" Merlin slurred while he leaned at the wall for support, already feeling his consciousness slowly slipping away.

She had vanished, just like that? Where could she have gone? He had to ask Gaius about it later. Oh, and maybe he should visit Gaius because of his injuries as well…?

Merlin stared at the ground, a frown on his face. "Where's all da blood comin' from?" He slurred, staring at the gigantic puddle of blood around him.

When his face rushed towards the ground, realization hit him.

"'s gotta be mine…"

_Don't leave._

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Arthur's eyes snapped open, staring at the ceiling above him. He could feel the adrenalin pumping through his veins and the sweat covering his forehead.

The grave feeling of danger made his heart beat incredibly fast.

But there was no danger, he told himself as he slowly relaxed into his pillows. He was just lying in his bed with a fever, a small one at that, and his life wasn't in danger anymore. Well, he had actually been killed just twelve hours ago, but he was save now, so no reason to get all worked up about it.

With a sigh, he closed his eyes again, ready to go back to his sleep, when he suddenly felt something pulling at edge of his consciousness.

Arthur sat up, frowning. He had never believed in supernatural things or anything, but it felt like something-_someone _was trying to tell him something…

"Man, I'm being so stupid, I could almost be Merlin." He mumbled and smiled at his own joke, until he suddenly remembered something. Merlin had ran off to somewhere and he had been all cryptic and mysterious again.

Arthur hated this! He wanted to know what his-dare he think that- best friend was doing, he wanted to know that he wasn't in danger.

Maybe he should have followed him, despite his fever?

_Maybe it's not too late yet._

Arthur looked around his room, unsure what to do…

With a resigned sigh, he threw his covers away and climbed out of bed, suddenly wide awake.

He quickly threw over a jacket, pulled on a pair of sneakers and made his way to the college's entrance. The hallways were dark and empty, everything was silent, most people were sleeping at this late hour. (Or were out drinking, in Gwaine's case.)

When he was out onto the streets, Arthur was surprised that he seemed to know where to go. Maybe it had to do something with the tugging sensation on his mind?

But after a while, this effect wore off and the feeling of danger tightening his chest slowly vanished. Now, Arthur was standing at a crossing, with no idea where to go.

He looked around, the street lamps threw bizarre shadows on the ground and a lonely car was heard driving some streets away.

The blonde frowned, crossing his arms in front of his chest in something like a huff. This had been a stupid idea! He had just walked out into the night without even knowing where to go! And he was standing here in the middle of nowhere!

With a sigh, Arthur decided to just try out one of the directions. It couldn't be helped now, could it? He had to find Merlin, no matter what, even if he had a fever and should actually be lying in his cozy bed right now.

_Which is the right way? No use pondering about it, just try out and go._

Arthur decided to go left, thinking that Merlin must have gone this way as well.

While he was walking quickly (He was not running. Never.) down the roads, Arthur started to imagine the worst things that could have happened. What if Merlin got attacked by Morgana or somebody else? What if he had gotten hurt? Or lost? What if he was dying right now?

Alright, that wasn't very likely.

_Nothing is impossible._

Suddenly, panic tightened his chest once more and Arthur started walking at an even faster pace. His thoughts were circling solely around the purpose of finding Merlin. He had to make sure he was fine, he had to make sure he _stayed_ fine. Merlin was his best friend, he meant very much to him, even if Arthur would never admit it. If something ever happened to Merlin, he would never forgive himself.

_Driven by a purpose, greater than just living. _

When Arthur dashed around a corner, his already ragged breath stopped completely.

He had found Merlin and it seemed like his worst nightmare had come true.

The raven haired was lying on the ground, a giant puddle of dark blood had formed around him and he seemed unconscious. Arthur didn't dare to think he could possibly be…dead.

In less than a second, the blonde was at his friend's side, shaking and tears threatening to fall.

"D-don't be dead! You hear me?! Don't be dead, you i-idiot!" Arthur quickly grabbed Merlin's wrist, searching for his pulse. It was weak, but it was there.

Not daring to be relieved just yet, Arthur looked at Merlin's injuries. There was a wound on his right leg, it looked like he had been stabbed with something. Casting a glance around the alley, Arthur noticed a sword lying in one corner and then there was also a second sword, although broken into two halves.

Arthur directed his wet eyes at Merlin's pale features again, a frown taking over his face. Merlin had been in a _sword fight?! _This weren't the medieval times, this was the twenty-first century, for god's sake!

Arthur slid his arm under Merlin's shoulder and gently turned him around. The raven haired stayed deadly still, not even whimpering.

To hold back his tears was becoming harder by every cut he saw on Merlin and the rage inside him made him want to cry out and yell at everyone and everything.

When Merlin was lying on his stomach, Arthur flinched at the sight of his back. Merlin's hoodie was torn vertically and blood seemed to flow out of very deep, very long cuts.

Trying not to throw up, Arthur gently lifted his best friend from the ground and held him bridal style. His grip was firm as if he feared Merlin would be gone forever if he did not hold him tight.

As fast as the additional weight in his arms allowed him, Arthur ran off to the college. Gaius had to take care of Merlin, immediately.

Arthur's arms and legs hurt after a while, but he didn't allow himself to slow down. Merlin's live was at stake and even if he didn't have any proof, Arthur knew that Merlin had saved him as well, probably many times already.

This wasn't right, Merlin had to stop bringing himself into this dangerous situations, just because of him!

_Do you even want it to stop?_

"I owe you this, so don't you dare dying" The blonde whispered, urging himself to run faster.

A few minutes later, Arthur was covered in sweat and he could feel his cheeks burning from his fever, but he had finally arrived at the college.

"Gaius, are you here? We need your help, quickly!" Arthur shouted while he burst into Gaius' patient room, not bothering to knock.

While waiting for the old man's reply, Arthur maneuvered his raven haired friend onto the patient bed.

He turned the lights on and looked around for Gaius, but he was nowhere to be found. He must have already went to bed, maybe Arthur should wake him? Merlin's life was in danger, after all! He should've probably went straight to the hospital, but Arthur didn't want to explain this situation; he didn't even know what happened himself!

Before he left to go search Gaius, Arthur threw one last glance at his unconscious friend.

His eyes were shut and he was paler than ever, his chest barely rising and falling. The sheets were already covered in blood and Arthur wondered how much there was left in this skinny body.

A single tear rolled down his eyes at the thought of Merlin being dead and his heart was literally aching.

Arthur had never been a very religious man, but right now, he found himself praying.

_Don't leave._

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

* * *

**A/N:** Poor Morgause :( And poor Merlin of course. In any case, the next chapter will have some nice Freylin ;) Freya still owes Merlin some swimming lessons after all :D

Until next time~

**by DarkChain**


	13. Renewing Angel

**A/N: ** Your support never ceases, huh? Well, thanks :D I don't have much to say about this chapter…Just, you know

Read and Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Merlin. BBC does. As you should now.

* * *

**CHAPTER 13: RENEWING ANGEL**

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Freya opened her eyes to the blinding light of the morning sun. Something on her nightstand was making an annoying sound and Freya blinked a few times until she realized that it was only her phone which was ringing.

She sat up in confusion. Who on earth would call her this early on a Sunday morning? It was only six o'clock after all and she did not know that many people to begin with.

With a frown, she reached over to grab her phone and looked at the caller idea.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise as she read 'Gaius' on it.

Freya knew that Gaius worked in the college which Merlin was visiting, but she had never really talked to the man. They had only exchanged phone numbers in case there was an emergency with Merlin.

It couldn't be…

Instantly, Freya's heart sped up as she pressed the answering button.

"Um, hello? Here is Freya" she said, unsure of how to begin their conversation.

"_Good morning, girl, Gaius speaking. I'm sorry if I woke you"_ The old man's voice echoed through the phone.

"Ah, don't worry about it. How can I help you?" Freya asked, anxious of what might have happened to Merlin.

Gaius seemed to hesitate for a moment, but when he answered, his voice was steady and calm.

"_It's about Merlin. I don't… I cannot explain it but I feel like he might need your help. I am on a seminar today, so, if it isn't too much trouble, could you please look after him? I believe his situation is not looking so well…"_

Freya hitched a breath and tightened her grip around the phone. This wasn't sounding good.

"I will help, Gaius! But, could you possibly tell me what exactly happened?"

"_I am afraid I cannot. But you'll find out once you get to him. I don't know where Merlin is at the moment, but you should start looking in his room or in my patient room."_

Freya stayed silent for a moment, still not quite comprehending the situation.

"If you can't tell me what happened and you don't know where Merlin is at the moment…How do you know that he needs help?"

There was silence on the other end, before Gaius sighed. _"I am truly sorry, but I can't answer that. It would be good if you hurried, Freya."_

Freya nodded until she remembered that the other couldn't see that. "Yes I will. Good bye, Gaius."

"_Good day, my girl. And good luck."_

…

…

…

…

Half an hour later, Freya stood in one of the college's hallways, with no idea where to actually go. She had never been here and this college was plain huge.

Just when she was about to round a corner, she heard a gasp that made her heart ache.

"M-merlin, hold on. I'll get help, I'll get you help…"

Freya quickly ducked around the corner again and hid in the shadows of a locker as Arthur suddenly stumbled along. It was a horrifying sight.

The blonde was pale and shaking, blood covered his white shirt. His usually steely eyes were clouded a little and they were red, as if tears had pricked at them.

Freya found herself panicking and she wanted to run towards Arthur, shake him and ask about Merlin, but she decided otherwise. There would only be more questions to answer and she would definitively arrive later at Merlin's side. Maybe too late.

So she just waited until Arthur was out of sight before she rushed around the corner and sprinted away into the direction the other had come from.

The girl soon stood in front of a white door and she noticed the red fingerprints on the door handle. So that must be where Arthur had come from.

Freya slid inside and looked around, soon spotting a mop of raven hair. She was afraid to come closer but she was even more afraid of what could happen if she didn't. So she took a deep breath and stepped closer to the bed.

The sight was horrifying, if that wasn't underestimated.

Blood, everywhere. A face paler than death and a sense of darkness thickening the air. Merlin's aura was still present, so he had to be alive. But something was incomplete about him… Broken… Realization dawned on her and Freya's knees suddenly felt very weak, her whole body trembled in shock. "I-It's his wings…"

Immediately, she was by the angel's side and gripped his cold hand, pressing it tightly and touching his motionless face with a shaking hand of hers.

"Oh Merlin… How can I help you? In this state…" She trailed of, not wanting to think about the possible. Soon, tears ran down the girl's cheek, but she ignored them. She had to be strong now, for Merlin, if not for herself.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Arthur couldn't think straight. Actually, he couldn't think at all, he was basically just walking around, hoping to stumble across Gaius. The fact that he probably looked like death himself didn't even occur to him.

That was, until he met his father.

"Arthur? What happened to you?!" Disbelief was evident in his voice. Concern less so.

Arthur stopped and slowly turned around, annoyed at his father for keeping him from his search. "It's nothing. I've got to find Gaius." He mumbled and continued stumbling into some random direction.

"Arthur! What's up with this nonsense?! You look terrible! Tell me what happened!" Uther demanded, walking up to his son with furrowed brows. He gripped his arm and forced him to stop, taking in the condition of his son.

"What's with all the blood?! Wait, let's sit down…" He trailed of and led the younger one to a bench which stood in a corner. When they both were seated and Arthur had controlled his breathing, so that he could answer his father's questions, Uther continued:

"First of all, is that your blood? Is that why you were searching for Gaius?"

Arthur quickly shook his head and started to explain: "It's Merlin, my friend. He is badly injured, that's why I need Gaius. _Now_."

"Why didn't you just take him to the hospital?"

Arthur sighed and looked away, not knowing how to explain this situation correctly. He didn't even know what happened himself…

"I just had the feeling I shouldn't…" The blonde mumbled and scratched the back of his head.

Uther was silent for a moment, but then he nodded and took out his cellphone. "I take it that Gaius is not in his room." He said while typing in the doctor's phone number.

Everything was silent for a moment, before Gaius voice was heard on the other end. _"Hello? Uther, is that you calling?"_

"Yes, it's me. Where are you? We're having an emergency here." Uther said, sounding quite impatient despite his controlled features.

Arthur was quite surprised, if he was honest. Why was his father so concerned about Merlin? And why didn't he question his decision not to take Merlin to the hospital? It seemed like everyone in his life knew something about Merlin that he didn't.

"_I'm sorry, but I'm on a seminar today. I think I told you that, though…" _Gaius' voice echoed through the phone, surprisingly calm despite the remark about an emergency.

Before Uther could reply anything, the old man continued: "_But do not worry, I am already informed about the emergency and called for a substitute. She should already be by the patient's side."_

Uther smiled, a knowing smile in Arthur's eyes, and he shook his head in an amused manner. "I expected no less of you, Gaius." With that he hung up and turned to Arthur.

His son was staring at the phone with wide eyes, confused to no end. How would Gaius know about that? _He_ had found Merlin and he hadn't seen anything but his father yet?! This just wasn't possible…

Maybe Gaius had visionary powers?

How ridiculous.

"You should clean yourself up, Arthur. I can hear the first students. "His father reminded him and patted his son on the shoulder as he stood up and left, a rare smile on his lips.

Arthur was just sitting there, staring into nothing, even as he heard the mumbling of students in the other hallways and the opening of doors.

He decided that, now, his world was officially not making any sense anymore.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Freya felt the air around her. How it filled her lungs and left them again, a never ending circle.

Her eyes rested on Merlin, her brows were furrowed in concentration. This had to be working, Merlin's live depended on it.

She had always been good at healing, she wanted to help people so it probably lay in her nature. But this… This was a whole new level. Cuts and breaks were now problems, neither were diseases.

But restoring someone else's wings? It was branded as impossible under the normal angels. Usually only arch angels had the power to do something like that. But Freya didn't have much of a choice now. She could at least try, right?

She took a deep breath and laid her shaking hands on the raven haired's shoulders, gripping them tightly. Glowing light coated over her fingers and emerged onto Merlin's shoulders, then his chest and eventually onto his limbs.

But when it reached his face, Freya had to look at it and her heart started to ache. She had to close her eyes for a second and when she opened them again, the glowing light had vanished.

Freya sighed and removed her hands. This wasn't working, she thought, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

What had she thought? That she had the power of an arch angel? That she would be able to save Merlin and fulfill Gaius expectations?

She couldn't do anything…

…

Suddenly, Merlin stirred on the bed, his face scrunched up in pain. Freya shook her head to clear her mind, grim determination taking over.

She simply had to try again. How could she dare to give up so soon? How could she live like that, knowing that she hadn't tried enough?

With new determination, Freya laid her hands back onto the angel's shoulders and she closed her eyes.

She searched for the power within her and led it to her fingertips. Then she could feel it expanding. Over the shoulders, the chest, the limps and eventually reaching the face. Just a bit more, and Merlin would fully be covered.

Now all that was left was to work on the specific injuries. Freya looked Merlin over and watched in satisfaction as the big wound on his leg closed. It happened slowly and Freya could feel herself getting tired, but it worked. It really worked!

Just when she started to smile, her knees gave out and Freya found herself kneeling the floor, her hands having left Merlin and thus stopping the healing.

With a curse, Freya pulled herself up, ignoring the dizziness. She had to continue, it was almost done!

With a frown, the girl set down next to the angel and once again gripped his shoulders. "Let's finish this…" She murmured and closed her eyes in concentration.

When her power was working on Merlin again, she opened her eyes, just to jump from the bed with a high pitched scream.

Piercing blue eyes were staring directly at her, a deepness in them which displayed a strange kind of wisdom. Freya couldn't remember that it had been there before.

"My god, Merlin! Don't surprise me like that!" Freya gasped out, trying to slow her heartbeat down.

The raven haired groaned and slowly sat up, rubbing his aching back. His mind was fuzzy and he felt incredibly weak, but to his surprise there was no actual pain.

The last thing he remembered was that he had passed out in that alleyway, after he had-

What had he done?! Morgause, what happened to her? He remembered that red circle and it had seemed like the fallen angel had been _sinking into the ground…._

Oh well, he had probably gone insane long ago.

When Merlin cast his gaze on the dark haired girl that was standing not far away from him, he only realized what had happened.

"You healed me." He said, eyebrows raised in surprise and a smile tugged on his lips at seeing Freya again. It had been quite long ago since the meeting at the lake…

Freya blushed a little and averted her eyes, but then she shuffled towards the bed, sitting down next to Merlin. "Yeah, I did… How are you feeling?" She asked, casting a concerned gaze all over him.

Merlin stretched his arms and flexed his fingers. "Actually… I feel alright. Thank you so much, Freya." He exclaimed happily, beaming at the blushing girl. "I would've been done for without you."

Freya returned his smile and felt a warm feeling inside her chest. "I'm glad I could help you."

"So you are an angel as well?" Merlin asked, breathing in the lovely scent of the girl next to him. She was an angel, even though she was hiding her wings right now, he was sure of it.

"Kind of." Freya replied, her smile growing sad. Would Merlin still be this nice to her if he knew?

"You don't happen to know how exactly I came here, do you?" Merlin asked, looking around and recognizing it as Gaius patient room. He wondered why the old man wasn't here.

Freya just shrugged and tugged at a strand of her hair. "I guess it was Arthur, but I don't really know what happened."

The raven haired nodded, guessing that this made sense. But then Arthur would have seen him in this rather bad shape, which surely would lead to annoying questions. This could have gone better, but at least Morgause wasn't bothering them anymore. If just he knew what he had done…

"Gaius just called me and said that he wasn't here to take care of you, so I came instead." Freya continued in a light voice.

Merlin chuckled. That explained some things. "And you just came? It's not even seven, is it?" Merlin asked, not able to keep the amusement out of his voice. Freya blushed a little more, but nonetheless she smiled at Merlin. "The time didn't matter, you needed help so I came." She just said.

The other was silent for a moment, but then he slowly grabbed the girl's hand and entwined there fingers. "You know I'd do the same for you, right?"

They sat in silence for a moment, just the cold morning air between them.

After a while, Merlin spoke up again. "But you really did a great job in healing me. I imagine it wasn't easy"

Freya sighed and nodded, suddenly remembering how tired she actually was. "Would you…show me your wings? Just so I can check if I did everything right, of course."

"Of course, my hoodie is ruined anyway." He said with a grin and carefully unfolded his wings.

Freya had thought that this morning had held enough surprises in store. Apparently, she was mistaken.

"A-are they supposed to look like that?! I'm so sorry, I did something wrong!" Freya pressed out and stared at Merlin's wings wide eyed.

They were bigger than a normal angel's, much bigger and formed in a different way. Also there were some golden feathers between the snow white ones, making it look like the sun shining through clouds.

But this wasn't the only thing which had changed. Merlin's eye color was golden, which was like it was supposed to be of course. But Freya had looked at him the whole time, he did not take the contact lenses out! And they couldn't have melted, Merlin did not seem angry in the least.

Trying to grasp what she was seeing, it took Freya a moment to notice the glowing symbol on the back of the raven haired's hand.

It was a dragon, expanding its tail over the thumb and breathing fire onto the pinky finger.

Merlin's mouth was wide agape. He saw his reflection in the window and noticed his various changes. He raised his hand and touched brushed over one of the now golden feathers. It felt so unreal.

"What am I?" He breathed out in surprise, staring at the symbol on the back of his left hand.

Then he reflected on, well everything:

A destiny…Arthur Pendragon….three fallen angels…a guardian angel, Gaius…..'How can I get rid of them?'…..a red circle…bleeding fingertips...defeating Morgause…a red circle...a strange voice…ban them from earth….Kilgarrah….'I wonder...Just the thoughts of an old angel'….'what are you?'…a red circle, these words…'that wasn't something a mere guardian angel would do'…Not something a mere guardian angel would do…a mere guardian angel…'Only arch angels can accomplish such a thing'…. Only arch angels, not a mere guardian angel…

Suddenly everything snapped into place.

It was absurd of course, totally unthinkable and actually impossible. But it was the only thing that made sense, if everything of this made sense at all.

"I am…an arch angel…" Merlin mumbled still not quite believing it despite something deep within him told it was true.

Merlin looked away from his reflection and at Freya, who still stared at him in shock.

After a while, she smiled and grabbed his hand, the one with the dragon symbol on it. "I'm not sure if I understand it, but I know that it must be true. You always had this air around you, suggesting that you were so much more than the eye could see."

Merlin just shook his head and changed back, pleased to see that the symbol had vanished and that his eyes were back to their cerulean color. At least he didn't have to always change his contact lenses now. And he really had to go see Gaius about this…

When Freya noticed the frown in the other's face, she leaned a little closer and rested her forehead against his. "Hey, don't think about it too much. Sooner or later, you well get behind it. For the moment, just…" She paused for a moment and closed her warm hazel eyes "…stay safe."

They sat in silence, both lost in their thoughts when suddenly a loud voice interrupted.

"_Mer_lin!"

Freya opened her eyes and backed away from merlin, a small smile playing on her lips. "I should go. Let's meet at the lake, shortly before sunset" She whispered and placed a burning kiss on his cheek.

Merlin blushed and grinned sheepishly. "I'll be there."

When Freya opened the door, Arthur stood outside. Still nervous but now thankfully without blood. "Hello, Arthur. You can take over now." Freya said as she passed him and hurried down the hallway.

Arthur looked after her with a raised eye brow, than looked back at Merlin.

The sight honestly wasn't like he expected it to be. Merlin looked bloody and his clothes were torn, but he wasn't pale anymore, sat upright and was smiling.

His relief was so big and overwhelming, even if he tried, he would never be able to express it in words. So he just grinned and decided for teasing.

"Your girlfriend is Gaius' substitute? I didn't know you were into nurses"

Merlin blushed and poked his tongue out at his protégé. "Prat."

Arthur walked over to his friend and sat down next to him, just barely able to keep himself from throwing his arms around the younger one.

"You didn't even deny it" He said with a smirk and captured Merlin in a headlock, rubbing his knuckles over his head.

"Ouch! Stop it, I'm injured, remember?" He whined, but couldn't keep himself from chuckling. It was nice that Arthur showed his affection. Still, he would have preferred a hug.

Arthur stopped and regained some distance, looking Merlin over skeptical. "Are you sure you should be sitting up like that?"

Merlin just laughed it off and waved his hand dismissively. "It's no big deal, really." There really was no reason for Arthur to worry about him, he was fine. Merlin was more surprised that Arthur didn't start asking questions about what happened last night. It would surely come later.

"No big deal?! You almost died!" Arthur hissed, concern firmly hidden behind a glare.

Now it was Merlin's time to frown. Why was Arthur so angry all of a sudden? "Hey, aren't you overreacting a little bit?"

Arthur kept silent turning his head away, balling his hand into fists. Of course he was and he knew, but there were so many emotions inside him, he didn't know how to deal with them.

"Really, I'm perfectly alright now, see? I'm not going to die so easily, you don't have to worry so much. You know, I'm practically, immor-"

Merlin ended abruptly, hands instantly rushing up to the burning skin of his left cheek. He had a hard time preventing tears from falling, his inner feelings in turmoil.

First, he nearly died, then he discovered that he had somehow become an arch angel and now, Arthur had slapped him.

When he cast his watery eyes upwards, he noticed that Arthur looked very much like he was feeling. Confused, angry, frightened and shocked.

"You are not. Immortal I mean." The blonde said softly, his eyes looking like they wanted to cry as well. "Just because you're not in pain, doesn't mean you're alright."

He sat back down, next to Merlin, much nearer this time and Merlin just looked at him, waiting.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to hit you."

Merlin just smiled, having never been angry at Arthur to begin with. "I guess I kind of deserved it."

Arthur grinned and patted his friend's shoulder. "You deserve it whenever you open your mouth" he joked but his expression soon became serious again.

"I won't ask you what happened to you, as I know what answer I'll get." Merlin sighed, but nodded and grabbed his friend's hand. "Would you believe me if I told you I was forbidden to talk about it by, let's say, some kind of law?"

Arthur looked into the raven haired's eyes for a moment, before he smiled and said: "What are you, some kind of secret agent?"

Merlin just chuckled and looked off into the distance.

"If I told you, we'd both be as good as dead."

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-GUARDIAN ANGEL-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

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**A/N:** Now there are only 7 chapters left, but it feels like I just got started :D

The next two chapters will be kind of easygoing, with some friendship and romance (Freylin as well as Arwen). You could say, that's kind of like the calm before the storm :)

Until next time~

**By DarkChain**


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